METAPHOR  AND   SIMILE 


IN    THE 


MINOR   ELIZABETHAN    DRAMA 


A  DISSERTATION    PRESENTED  TO  THE  FACULTY  OF  ARTS,  LITERA- 
TURE,   AND    SCIENCE,    OF    THE    UNIVERSITY    OF 
CHICAGO,  IN  CANDIDACY  FOR  THE 
DEGREE  OF  DOCTOR  OF 
PHILOSOPHY 


BY 
FREDERIC  IVES  CARPENTER 


CHICAGO 
Ct)^  £lnibrrsit£  of  tCfjtcaso  tyress 

1895 


°[ox 


Ui: , 


ANALYTICAL  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Pages. 
Introduction  :     Aim  and  Scope  of  the  Study  —  Literature  of  the  Subject 
— Difficulty  of  the  Subject  —  Method  of  Observation  followed  —  Plan 
of   Classification  —  The    Theory  of    Trope  —  The    Test  of   Trope  — 
Significance  of  the  Study  of  Dramatic  Imagery  ....      vii-xvi 

GORBODUC    AND    THE    BEGINNINGS    OF    THE    ELIZABETHAN  DRAMA  : 

Pre-Elizabethan  Dramatic  Imagery  —  Influence  of  Foreign  Models 
on  Diction  and  Imagery  —  Characteristics  in  the  use  of  Metaphor  and 
Simile  in  Gorboduc  -  ---.-...  j-y 

Lyly  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed       -----.-_  Q 

Characteristics  and  Influence  of  Lyly's  peculiar  Diction  —  Euphuism 
in  Lyly's  Plays  —  Conceits  in  Lyly  —  General  Character  of  his 
Imagery n-I5 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Lyly's  Imagery       -  -       15-20 

PEELE:     List  of  Plays  Analyzed 21 

Various  Critics  on  Peele's  Imagery' — General  Character  of  his 
Imagery  ........  .       23_25 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Peele's  Imagery      -         -         -       26-31 

Marlowe  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed        -------  33 

Quality  and  Value  of  Marlowe's  Dramatic  Imagery  —  Condensed 
Metaphors  in  Marlowe  —  Imagery  Poetical  rather  than  Dramatic  — 
Mixed  Metaphors  —  Hyperbole  —  Costly  Phrases  —  Geographic 
Romance  —  Quibbling  —  The  Earlier  and  the  Later  Plays  distin- 
guished   -         - 35-40 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Marlowe's  Imagery  40-47 

Summary :     Chief  Topics  reflected  in  Marlowe's  Imagery  -  -       47-48 

Kyd  :     Noteworthy  Metaphors  and  Similes  in  Jeronimo  and  in  The  Span- 
ish Tragedy  —  Tropes  common   to  various  Plays  ascribed  to  Kyd       -       49~53 

Greene  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed           -         - 55 

Quality  of  Greene's  Imagery — His  Favorite  Forms            -                   -  57-59 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Greene's  Imagery           -         -  59-62 

iii 


iv  CONTENTS. 

Tourneur  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed -  63 

The  Dramatic  Intensity  of  Tourneur's  Diction  —  Hyperbole  in  Tour- 
neur—  His  Imaginative  Suggestiveness  —  Elliptical  Figures  —  Strik- 
ing Similitudes  —  Introspective  Conceits  .....       65-68 
Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Tourneur's  Imagery         -         -       68-72 

Webster  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed 73 

Striking  Originality  and  Power  of  Webster's  Dramatic  Diction  — 
Observance  of  Dramatic  Decorum  —  The  Short  Simile  his  Favorite 
Form  —  Logical  Quality  of  his  Genius  —  Concentrated  Comparisons 

—  Persistence  of  the   Ethical    Motive  —  Sententiousness — Personifi- 
cations—  Trick  of  Self-Repetition    -------       75~8o 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Webster's  Imagery  -  -       80-92 

Summary :     Morbid  Quality  of  Webster's  Comparisons      -  -         -       92-93 

Chapman  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed        - 95 

Great  Faults  counterbalanced  by  Great  Merits  —  General  Manner  of 
his  Imagery  —  His  Three  Styles  —  Excesses  of  his  Diction  —  Profuse 
Use  of  Tropes  —  Chapman  and  Marlowe  —  The  Question  of 
Bombast  in  Chapman  —  Quibbling  and  Conceits — The  Introspective 
Conceit  —  His  Epithets  —  Personification  —  Hall-marks  of  his  Diction 

—  Poetical  and  Vigorous  Images -  -     97-107 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Chapman's  Imagery       -  -    107-123 

Summary  :  Chapman's  Treatment  of  Nature  —  Aspects  of  Life 
reflected  in  his  Tropes      ---------   123-124 

JONSON  :     List  of  Plays  Analyzed  -  -  -  -  -  -  125 

Two  Noteworthy  Features  in  Jonson's  Imagery  —  Self-consciousness 

—  Diction  of  his  Tragedies  —  Of  the  Comedies  —  Narrow  Theories 
of    Art  —  Conceits  —  Pregnant    Metaphors  —  Epithets  —  Nature    in 

Jonson      -  - 127-136 

Analysis  of  the  Range  and  Sources  of  Jonson's  Imagery  -  -    136-156 

Summary:     Aspects  of  Life  emphasized  in  Jonson's  Imagery    -  -  156 

Table  by  Authors  and  by  Topics  of  Tropes  Indexed  -  159 

General  Summary  and  Conclusions         ------  161-213 

Chief  Forms  of  Trope  in  the  Elizabethan  Drama  :  General  Value 
and  Quality  of  Elizabethan  Dramatic  Imagery  —  Methods  of  Com- 
position among  the  Dramatists  —  The  Evolution  of  Dramatic  Imagery 

—  Lyric  Interludes — -Characteristics  of  the  later  Elizabethan  Drama 

—  Metonymy  and  Synecdoche  in  the  Drama  —  Simile  as  a  Dramatic 
Figure  —  The    Simile  in  Action — -Metaphor,  its  various  Forms  as  a 


CONTENTS.  v 

Dramatic  Figure  —  Exactness  not  an  essential  Merit  in  Trope  —  Two 
Types  of  Poetic  Mind-  Strong  Figure  and  Metaphor ;  Weaker  Fig- 
ures and  Simile — Function  of  Dramatic  Metaphor  —  Two  essential 
Classes  of  Tropes:  The  vivid  Image  rvn/f.f  The  Sympathetic  Meta- 
phor—  The  Intensive  Metaphor  in  the  Drama  —  In  Marlowe  -Kyd 
—  Chapman  —  Tourneur  —  Webster  —  Various  Excesses  in  the  Use 
of  Tropes  —  Cumulative  Effects  —  Sententious  Figures  —  Catachresis 
and  Mixed  Metaphor  —  Conceits:  Dramatic;  Airy  and  Fantastic; 
Abstract  and  Metaphysical;  and  Hyperbolical  —  Hyperbole  in  the 
Drama — Personification  in  the  Drama:  Personal  Metaphors;  Formal 
Personification  ........--   161-192 

Matter  and  Content  of  Elizabethan  Dramatic  Imagery  : 

General  Range  and  Sources  of  Tropes  in  the  Drama  —  Treatment  of 
Nature  —  The  Pathetic  Fallacy  —  Treatment  of  Human  Life  —  Dic- 
tion Fluent,  not  Conventional  ...  -  -  192-202 

The    Times  and  the    People  as  Reflected  in  the  Elizabethan 
Dramatic    Imagery:     Multitudinous    Aspects  of  Life   revealed  — 
Predominant    Moralizing    Tendency  —  Sombre  Criticism  of    Life  — 
Renaissance   Traits  reflected  in  the  Drama  —  Costly  and    Gorgeous 
Images  —  Violent  Metaphors — General  Recapitulation      -  -  202-213 

Bibliographical  Index         -  -         -  ....  215-217 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  aim  of  this  study  is  partly  descriptive,  partly  theoretical. 

I    have   selected   eight  of    the   representative   dramatists   of    the 

reign  of   Elizabeth  and  the  early  years  of  the  reign 

Aim  and  Qj  james  ^  not  including  Shakspere,  have  made  an 

P!,°  ,,  analvsis  of  the  characteristics  of  each  author  in  his 

this  Study 

use  of  metaphor  and  simile,  and  in  the  range  and 

sources  of  his  imagery,  and  have  endeavored  to  state  the  results 

of  this  studv  in  each  case  in  some  detail.     In  conclusion  I  have 

J 

attempted  to  formulate  a  few  generalizations  in  regard  to  the  Eliza- 
bethan drama  as  a  whole,  considered  in  relation  to  the  character- 
istic diction  and  imagery  employed  in  it.  This  is  the  descriptive 
part  of  the  work.  At  the  same  time  consideration  of  the  theory 
and  the  classification  of  the  figures  of  speech,  especially  of  the 
higher  and  more  imaginative  figures,  has  been  forced  upon  me 
by  the  extreme  complexity  and  the  elliptical  abruptness  and 
difficultv  of  manv  of  the  characteristic  images  to  be  found  in  the 
pages  of  the  authors  studied.  I  have  however  no  new  definitions 
or  classifications  of  importance  to  offer ;  but  the  illustrations 
under  the  several  heads  of  Simile,  Implied  Simile,  Fable, 
Proverb,  Allegory,  Hvperbole,  Conceit,  and  Personification,  as 
herein  presented,  may  possibly  serve  as  material  in  the  elucida- 
tion of  the  subject  by  others. 

Some  sixteen  years  ago   Dr.  Friedrich    Brinkmann  began  to 

publish  an   extensive  work  on  the  study   of  Metaphor,1  of   which 

however  onlv  one  volume  out  of  several  proposed 

Literature  wag    eyer    pUi^isned.      This    volume    contains    an 

„  ,  .    .  extended    statement   of    the   theorv  of    metaphor, 

Subject  •  ' 

suggestions  and  illustrations  of  various  points  of 

view  in   the  study  of  metaphor,  and  finally  a  minute  analysis  of 

the  principal  metaphors  which  are  drawn  from  domestic  animals. 

'Die  Metaphern,  Studien  ueber  den  Geist  der  modernen  Spraehen.    (Bonn 

1S78.) 

vii 


vi  ll  INTRODUCTION. 

Among  the  subjects  connected  with  the  study  of  metaphor 
suggested  by  Dr.  Brinkmann  the  one  most  important  and  fruitful 
for  the  student  of  literature  as  literature  is  doubtless  the  study  of 
the  characteristics  and  style  of  individual  authors  as  revealed  in 
^heir  use  of  metaphor  and  simile. '  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  a  fuller 
exemplification  of  this  side  of  his  subject  was  not  included  in  Dr. 
Brinkmann's  work.  Studies  in  this  direction  bv  others,3  it  is  true, 
are  not  altogether  lacking.  Metaphor  in  poetrv  has  been  studied 
from  various  points  of  view  from  the  days  of  Aristotle  and  the  Greek 
critics  to  our  own.  And  verv  recentlv  a  thorough  study  of  Chaucer's 
imagery  by  Dr.  Friedrich  Klaeber,  now  of  the  University  of  Min- 
nesota, has  been  published.3  In  its  general  outlines  the  present 
studv  follows  the  leading  suggestions  of  Dr.  Brinkmann  in  this 
direction,  and  its  plan  resembles  in  some  particulars  that  of 
Dr.  Klaeber's  book. 

The  study  of  metaphor  and  simile  in  the  Elizabethan   drama 

is  attractive,  but  it   is  also  verv  difficult.       In  this  essav  it  will  be 

possible   only   to  survev   the  way   and  to  classify  a 

u   ^  part  of  the  materials.      I  confess  to  a  strong  sense 

of  the  r  & 

Subiect  °^  ^ie  dangers  of  an  analytical  method  in  the  study 

of  things  literarv.  The  essence,  the  living  spark 
always  escapes  us  when  we  come  to  dissect.  Quantity  is  taken 
into  account ;  qualitv  is  neglected,  and  it  is  impossible  to  con- 
sider all  the  facts.  Especially  is  this  true  in  dramatic  writing, 
where  so  much  is  left  unexpressed,  to  be  supplied  by  the  actor 
or  reader.  "Images  are  either  grand  in  themselves  or  for 
the     thought    and    feeling    that    accompany    them,"     as     Leigh 

'"Wie  zeichnet  sich  ....  der  Charakter  des  Schriftstellers  in  den  ihm  indi- 
viduell  angehbrigen  (den  nicht  incarnirten)  Metaphern?"     Op.  cit.  p.  120. 

2  See  for  example  :  Servius  on  Virgil ;  P.  Langen,  Die  Metapherim  latein- 
schen  von  Plautus  bis  Terence  (neue  lahrb.  f.  Phil,  und  Paedagogik  18S2) ;  H. 
Raeder,  Die  Tropen  und  Figuren  bei  R.  Gamier  (Kiel  1887);  Gummere,  The 
Anglo-Saxon  Metaphor  (Halle  1881);  Degenhardt,  Die  Metapher  bei  den 
Vorlaufern  Moliere's  (Marburg  1886);  G.  Duval,  Dictionnaire  des  Metaphores 
de  Victor  Hugo  (Paris  1888);  etc.  See  also  Professor  lebb's  suggestive  and 
valuable  study  of  Homer's  similes,  in  his  "Introduction  to  Homer"  (Boston 
1893),  pp.  26-32. 

3 Das  Bild  bei  Chaucer  (Berlin  1893,  pp.  450). 


1XTR0DUCTI0N  ix 

Hunt  says,1  and  [the  quality  of  three-quarters  of  the  imagery  of 
the  Elizabethan  plays  depends,  as  that  of  all  organic  imagery 
should  depend,  on  the  context  and  the  dramatic  situation  or 
moment.  '  For  purposes  of  etymology  or  of  phonology  or  of  the 
study  of  versification,  the  method  of  analysis  is  appropriate. 
But  the  meaning  of  style  and  the  characteristics  of  genius  are  not 
to  be  grasped  by  this  process  —  at  least  not  by  this  process  alone, 
and  in  the  first  approach.  One  cannot  but  sympathize  with  Mr. 
Swinburne's  ridicule  of  dogmatic  and  premature*  generalization 
in  such  matters.3  But  nowhere  do  the  imaginative  and  poetic  y 
quality  of  an  author,  the  range  of  his  interest,  the  characteristics 
of  his  mind,  and  the  scope  of  his  genius,  reveal  themselves  more 
certainly  than  in  his  imagery,  and  the  closer  knowledge  of  the 
great  masterpieces  involves  minute  as  well  as  free  and  discursive 
study.  \\n  making  any  minute  study  of  an  author's  imagery, 
accordingly,  an  analytical  subject- index  cannot  but  be  of  consid- 
erable assistance,  although  as  evidence  it  is  of  course  essentially 
corroborative,  not  primary.  \lt  is  the  Bertillon  system  of  mental 
measurement,  and  may  possibly  yield  results  in  the  identification 
of  literary  aliases. 

"The  sources  of  an  author's  similitudes,"  wrote  Professor 
Minto,3  "are  often  peculiarly  interesting,  as  affording  a  means  of 
measuring  the  circumference  of  his  knowledge.  We  cannot,  to 
be  sure,  bv  such  means,  take  a  very  accurate  measure,  but  we  can 
tell  what  books  a  man  has  dipped  into,  may  discover  what  writers 
he  has  plagiarized  from,  and  may  be  able  to  guess  how  his  inter- 
ests are  divided  between  books  and  the  living  world."  The 
essential  thing  is  to  guard  against  the  dangers  of  the  arithmetical 
method.  "  Non  pas,  pour  nous,"  as  Ferdinand  Brunetiere 
writes,4  apropos  of  the  dictionary  of  Victor  Hugo's  metaphors, 
"que  nous  ayons  une  grande  confiance  dans  les  applications  de 
la  statistique  a  la  litterature.     On  prouve  tout  avec  des  chiffres, 

1  Imag.  and  Fancy,  198. 

2  See  his  Study  of  Shakspere,  appendix. 

3  Manual  of  Eng.  Prose  Lit.,  p.  13.  See,  to  the  same  effect,  J.  A.  Symonds, 
Essays  Speculative  and  Suggestive,  238.  Cf.  also  Hennequin,  La  Critique 
Scientifique,  63  f. 

*  Xouvelles  Questions  de  Critique,  260. 


x  INTRODUCTION. 

et    merae    parfois    la   verite,    quand  on   sait    la   maniere   de  s'y 

prendre.     Si  cependant  il  y  a  quelques  objets  dont  le  poete  lui- 

meme    tire  plus  souvent    ou   plus  volontiers  ses  metaphores  ou 

ses  comparaisons ;  s'il  y  en  a  quelques'uns   qui  semblent  s'attirer 

ou   s'appeler  habituellement   l'un   l'autre   dans  ses   vers,   il   sera 

perinis  de  les  compter  ;  et,  de  la  frequence  de  certaines  images 

on    pourra   peut-etre    conclure    a    la    nature    elle-meme    de   son 

imagination." 

In  spite  however  of  the  endeavor  towards  an  objective  and 

analytical  method,  such  a  studv  as  this  must  be  largely  subjective. 

No  attempt  is  made  to  take  into  consideration  all 
Method  of  ,  ,      .     .,  ...  , 

_..  metaphor    and    simile    occurring    in    the    authors 

Observation  r  ° 

studied,  nor  are  metaphor  and  simile,  according 
to  the  stricter  definitions  of  some  writers  upon  rhetoric  and 
poetics,  alone  regarded.  <A11  tropes  (in  the  ancient  sense  of 
the  word),  in  which  imagination  is  felt  to  be  present,  are  con- 
sidered. Incarnate  or  faded  metaphors  are  generally  neglected, 
excepfso  far  as  they  illustrate  the  peculiar  diction  of  dramatic 
poetry  at  the  time.  In  general  only  the  more  striking, 
individual,  and  conscious  images  are  fullv  enumerated.  Of  course 
in  such  a  method  the  personal  equation  cannot  be  entirely  elim- 
inated. Quotations  of  striking  and  significant  tropes  will  be 
made  to  as  great  an  extent  as  the  necessarv  limits  of  this  paper 
will  permit ;  in  order  to  save  space,  page  references  to  standard 
editions  (see  bibliographical  index),  rather  than  to  act  and  scene, 
are  made  for  all  less  important  tropes.  The  sums  total  of  the 
references  under  each  head  and  under  each  author  are  annexed.1 
From  the  preceding  explanations,  however,  it  will  be  understood 
that  these  enumerations  are  more  or  less  inexact  and  have  no  abso- 
lute validity  ;  but  they  should  be  valid  for  purposes  of  comparison 
and  generalization.  If  the  limits  of  space  had  permitted  it  would 
doubtless  have  been  profitable  to  continue  this  study  so  as  to 
include  the  entire  body  of  the  drama  from  Gorboduc  to  the 
closing  of  the  theatres,  or  at  least  all  the  chief  dramatists  of  that 
period,  and  to  introduce  a  more  constant  comparison  and  refer- 
ence  to    Shakspere   as    the   great   master    of    dramatic  imagery. 

'See  the  table  infra,  p.  159. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

Reference  to  Shakspere  however  is  not  difficult   in   single   meta- 
phors through  the  concordances  or  through  Schmidt's  lexicon. 

The   classifications    employed    in    analyzing    the    range    and 

sources   of   each    author's    imagery,    I    have   purposely    abstained 

from   making  minute  or  thoroughly  systematic.      It 

._    ,.  is  difficult  to  see  the  significance  of  idiosyncrasies 

Classification.  °  J 

in  the  use  of  imagery  when  the  natural  groupings 
of  an  author's  mental  pictures  are  obscured  by  minute  sub- 
divisions. Such  subdivisions  make  a  more  perfect  subject-index, 
but  are  otherwise  confusing.  The  more  scientific  classifications  of 
Aristotle  '  or  of  Max  Miiller2  or  Dr  Brinkmann,3  although  valuable 
for  other  ends,  would  be  here  not  to  the  purpose.  Dramatic 
imagery  in  proportion  as  it  is  dramatic,  rather  than  epic  or  lyric,\ 
naturally  illustrates  human  life  by  human  life,  and  we  shall  find 
that  the  larger  part  of  that  which  follows  is  drawn  from  the 
field  of  human  life.4  Accordingly  there  are  two  main  divisions  : 
tropes  drawn  from  the  field  of  nature  and  those  drawn  from  the 
field  of  human  life.  Under  Nature  subdivisions  are  introduced 
for  (i)  Aspects  of  the  Sky,  The  Elements,  etc. ;  (2)  Aspects  of 
Water,  the  Sea,  etc.;  (3)  Aspects  of  Earth,  Inorganic  nature, 
etc.;  (4)  The  Vegetable  World;  (5)  The  Animal  World. 
Under  Man  and  Human  Life  are  grouped  (1)  The  Arts  and 
Learning;  (2)  Various  Occupations;  (3)  Agriculture,  etc.; 
(4)  Trades,  etc.;  (5)  Domestic  Life,  including  Dress  and  Orna- 
ment;  (6)  Colloquial,  Coarse,  and  Familiar  Images;  (7)  The 
Body  and  its  Parts,  including  the  Appetites,  Senses,  etc.;  (8) 
Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.;  (9)  War;  (10)  Classical  and 
Literary  Allusions.      Finally,  in    preference   to  grouping  arbitra- 

1  Poetics,  c.  21. 

3 Science  of  Thought,  II  480-512. 

3  Die  Metaphern,  pp.  29-34,  viz  :  (i)  The  material  pictured  by  the  material ; 
(2)  The  immaterial  by  the  material;  (3)  The  material  by  the  immaterial;  14) 
The  immaterial  by  the  immaterial;  etc.     Cf.  Quintilian  VIII  vi. 

*  How  different  is  it  with  Wordsworth,  the  poet  of  Nature  !  A  count  of  the 
metaphors  and  similes  in  Wordsworth's  poetry  preceding  the  Excursion,  made 
by  Mr.  Vernon  P.  Squires  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  shows  258  (or  over  50 
per  cent.)  illustrating  human  things  by  natural;  46  natural  by  human;  136 
human  by  human;   59  natural  by  natural. 


S) 


xii  INTRODUCTION. 

rily  under  any  of  the  preceding  heads  certain  references  of  doubt- 
ful or  of  double  ascription,  a  small  division  (n)  of  miscellaneous 
or  unclassified  references  has  been  added. 

Complete  authors  in  each  case  have  been  studied,  with  the 
omission  of  doubtful  plays  and  plays  of  composite*  authorship. 
I  have  summarized  under  each  author  his  chief  formal  character- 
istics in  the  use  of  tropes,  noting  generally  his  observance  of 
essential  rhetorical  principles,  the  abundance  and  vigor  of  his 
imagery,  the  chief  cases  of  borrowed  imagery,  and  the  leading 
figures  which  he  affects,  whether  simile  (and  of  what  sort),  meta- 
phor, sententious  figures,  personification,  hyperbole,  or  whatever 
else. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  complexity  and  difficulty  of  the  charac- 
teristic figures  of  the  Elizabethan  drama.  The  simile  in  Homer, 
or  in  epic  poetrv  in  general,  is  comparatively  easy  of  study  and 
admits  readily  of  generalized  inferences.  But  the  characteristic 
figurative  language  of  the  Elizabethan  drama  presents  very  few 
Homeric  similes  —  almost  none  of  the  true  type,  that  is,  similes 
unmixed  with  metaphor,  episodical,  and  prolonged.  Shorter 
similes,  it  is  true,  are  frequently  used,  but  they  are  almost  always 
complicated  with  metaphor  or  other  figure./  Indeed  perhaps  the 
most  striking  feature  of  the  dramatic  imagery  of  this  period  in 
its  typical  writers  is  the  general  fusion,  the  elliptical  confusion, 
of  all  the  more  intense  and  imaginative  figures  in  passages  of 
high  excitement  or  passion.1  Simile  lapses  into  metaphor,  meta- 
phor into  allegory,  personification,  or  hyperbole,  with  kaleido- 
_scopic  abruptness.  "The  compound  metaphor,  .  .  .  where  the 
analogy  is  intricate,"  of  Herbert  Spencer,2  is  the  prevailing,  or  at 

1  These  dramatists  love  to  linger  over  a  metaphorical  idea  and  to  develop 

it:     Thus  in  Webster's  White  Devil  Vittoria,  dying,  says  : 

•'  My  soul,  like  to  a  ship  in  a  black  storm, 
Is  driven,  I  know  not  whither." 

Her  brother,  the  sardonic  Flamineo,  answers ; 

"  Then  cast  anchor. 
Prosperity  doth  bewitch  men,  seeming  clear: 
But  seas  do  laugh,  show  white,  when  rocks  are  near.  .  .  . 

....  Art  thou  gone  ? 
Art  thou  so  near  the  bottom?" 

2  Phil,  of  Style,  p.  32. 


INTRODUCTION.  xm 

least  the  characteristic,  figure.  In  a  study  which  is  not  chiefly  a 
studv  of  words  in  their  metaphorical  origins,  such  figures  are 
difficult  of  analysis  and  they  do  not  lend  themselves  readily  to 
classification. 

On  the  theory  of  trope,  so  complicated  and  still  so  unsettled, 

happily  it  is  not  a  part  of  my  task   to   linger, — "circa  quern,"  as 

Quintilian'  wrote  so   long  ago,  "inexplicabilis  et 

e       eory        crrammaticis  inter  ipsos,  et  philosophis,   pugna  est, 

Of  Trope  °  I  r  r  r     o 

quae  sint  genera,  quae  species,  qui  numerus,  qui 
cuique  subjiciatur."  The  tripartite  division  of  the  ancients  into 
figures  of  thought,  figures  of  language,  and  tropes,  is  still  perhaps 
the  best  for  all  practical  purposes.2  [The  present  study  has  com- 
prehended the  subject  of  trope  alone!)  Trope  I  have  used  as  a 
generic  term  comprising  the  principal  aesthetic  or  imaginative 
figures,  of  which  metaphor  and  simile  are  the  leading  examples.3 
These  figures  it  is  difficult  to  classify  among  themselves  for  the 
reason  that  in  the  complex  language  of  high  poetry  they  seldom  ^ 
are  found  in  their  simplicity,  but  are  usually  mixed,  grading  off 
imperceptibly  into  one  another.  They  may  be  legitimately 
treated  together  for  the  reason  that  a  common  principle,  the 
principle  of  imagination,  underlies  them  all.  To  explain  further 
in  given  examples  the  principle  of  the  effect  upon  the  mind  usually 
involves,  except  in  the  simplest  cases,  a  separate  explanation  in 
each  instance.  Some  classification  therefore,  such  as  that  of  Pro- 
fessor Greene,4  based  on  distinctions  of  degree  rather  than  those 

'VIII  vi  i. 

aThe  whole  subject  is  minutely  discussed  in  Gerber,  Die  Sprache  als  Kunst 
(cf.  the  index  under  "  Figuren,"  "  Tropen,"  etc.).  See  also  Jebb,  Attic  Orators, 
II  60. 

3  It  seems  to  me  a  mistake  to  attempt  to  limit  the  term  as  Professor  Minto 
has  done  (Man. of  Eng.  Prose  Lit.  pp.  12-13)  to  the  non-literal  use  of  "single 
words."  Professor  Minto  cites  Quintilian  as  favoring  his  definition,  but  Quin- 
tilian says  distinctly:  "Mihi  videntur  errasse,  qui  non  alios  crediderunt  tropos, 
quam  in  quibus  verbum  pro  verbo  poneretur."     (VIII,  vi  2). 

4  A  Grouping  of  Figures  of  Speech,  Based  upon  the  Principle  of  their 
Effectiveness.  Based  on  this  principle  —  that  of  the  degree  of  imagination  pres- 
ent in  each  figure  on  the  average  —  Professor  Greene  groups  the  various 
tropes  in  the  following  order,  proceding  from  those  nearest  to  literal  statement 
and  ending  with  those  the  most  highly  figurative  or  symbolical :     Synecdoche, 


v^° 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

of  kind  is,  it  seems  to  me,  the  only  profitable  one.  Gerber1  has 
pointed  out  how  the  principle  underlying  synecdoche  has 
given  rise  to  other  and  wider  figures  (examples,  parallels,  etc., — 
giving  a  part  for  the  whole);  and  similarly  of  metonymy  (whence 
similitude,  parable,  etc., —  one  thing  in  place  of  another).  "  Meta- 
phora  brevior  est  similitudo "  is  the  time-honored  definition  of 
metaphor,  however  probable  it  may  be  that  metaphor  historically 
precedes  simile  in  actual  use.2  And  few  can  fail  to  recognize  the 
underlying  similarity  which  has  led  to  the  definition  of  allegory 
as  prolonged  metaphor,  and  which  has  made  apparent  in  the 
mythologizing  or  anthropomorphic  tendency  that  leads  to  Per- 
sonification, the  very  germ  and  cardinal  principle  of  all  primi- 
tive thinking  and  of  half  the  metaphor  and  imagery  in  the  world. 
For  these  reasons  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  classify  defi- 
nitely the  various  figures  used  in  each  author;   but  any  tendency 

towards  the  use  of  a  particular  form  or  of  particular 
The  Test  of        ,  .  ,  .,  ,         ,  , 

forms  in    preference    to    others  has    been    noted. 

•  "The  essence  of  metaphor,"  says  Professor  Greene,3 

"is   that    to   the  literal    understanding  it  is  false,  while  to  the 

imagination   it   is  true."     The  same  rule,   liberally  applied,  may 

also  be  used  in  the  detection  of  tropes  in  general.     Figures  of 

speech  in  the  ancient  sense  (antithesis,  parallelism,  etc.)  are  too 

low  in  the  imaginative  scale,  if  indeed  they  enter  it  at  all,  and  are 

Metonymy,  Stated  Simile,  Implied  Simile,  Metaphor,  Personification,  Imper- 
fect Allegory,  Pure  Allegory.  Professor  Greene  writes  me  as  follows  on  the 
subject  :  "  It  seems  to  me  that  there  has  been  too  great  a  tendency  .... 
to  draw  hard  and  fast  lines  between  the  various  figures.  To  the  novice 
it  may  have  a  more  learned  sound  to  pronounce  dogmatically  that  a  given 
expression  contains  this  or  that  figure,  but  more  careful  students  sometimes 
see  in  the  same  expression  a  blending  of  two  figures,  or,  if  vou  choose,  a 
transitional  figure.  ...  It  seems  to  me  that  the  poets  themselves,  by  the  readi- 
ness with  which  they  pass  from  one  form  of  language  to  another,  show  us  that 
we  must  not  set  up  hard  and  fast  lines  in  our  classifications,  but  must  admit  that 
one  form  of  language  can  blend  with  another." 

1  Die  Sprache  als  Kunst,  II  40  f.,  66  f. 

2  On  the  origin  of  Metaphor  cf.  Gummere,  The  Anglo-Saxon  Metaphor,  pp 
11  f :  A.  H.  Tolman,  The  Style  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry,  pp.  12  f.;  Max  Muller 
Science  of  Thought,  II  480  f. 

3  A  Grouping  of  Figures  of  Speech,  p.  II. 


INTRO D  UCTION.  X  V 

too  closelv  connected  with  the  mere  grammatical  structure  of  lan- 
guage to  be  mistaken  for  tropes.  Figures  of  thought  (irony, 
hvperbole,  etc.)  in  some  cases  are  and  in  other  cases  are  not  at  the 
same  time  tropes.  The  above  rule  will  usually  suffice  to  establish 
the  difference^,  j 

Trope,  at  least  in  its  higher  forms,  involves  imagery,  but  not 
all  imagery  is  trope,  so  that  many  expressions  which,  within  the 
conventions  of  dramatic  form,  are  to  be  taken  literally,  are 
excluded  from  a  study  dealing  with  trope  aloneA  Thus  the 
charming  flower  passage  in  Act  I,  Scene  I  of  Peele's  Arraignment 
of  Paris,  involving  as  it  does  several  similes  and  epithets,  is  not 
as  a  whole,  a  trope.  And  similarly,  Sir  Epicure  Mammon's 
glorious  imaginings  in  Act  II,  Scene  I  of  The  Alchemist,1-  —  the 
passage  so  admired  by  Lamb,  —  are  literal  in  expression,  or  at 
best  figured  forth  in  a  sort  of  sensuous  hyperbole. 

Imagery  is  of  the  very  essence  of  poetry,  and  symbol  alone  is 

capable  of  giving  to  truth  that  aspect  of  beauty  and  that  touch  of 

emotion  which  convey  to  the  mind  the  subtler  impli- 

Significance  of    cations  of  thought  in  a  way  unattainable  to  the  arti- 

^         L.  fices  of  circumlocution  or  the  colorless  vagueness  of 

Dramatic  ° 

Imagery  abstract   terms.     "Im  Grunde   genommen,     writes 

Alfred   Biese,2    "  ist    iede  Dichtung  eine  Metapher 

im    weitesten    Sinne  .  .   .   Ohne    Svmbolisierung    entsteht     kein 


Kunstwerk."  ((An  investigation  of  the  imagery  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan drama  is  therefore  largely  an  investigation  of  the  poetical 
quality  of  that  drama.  The  limitations  of  the  present  study, 
however,  are  too  narrow  to  admit  of  complete  generalizations  on 
this  subject.'  Shakspere  of  course  is  the  very  type  of  all  that  was 
great  and  characteristic  in  Elizabethan  poetry,  and  perhaps  the 
best  of  the  poetic  impulse  in  the  strictly  Elizabethan  drama 
studied  in  this  essay  was  communicated  after  Shakspere  to  the 
post-Elizabethan  school,  to  Fletcher,  Shirley,  and  others.  I  think 
however  it  will   be    found  that,  except  for  the  lyrical  graces  of 

'See   especially   that  portion   of    the  extract  cited  by    Lamb,  beginning, 
"My  meat  shall  all  come  in  in  Indian  shells, 
Dishes  of  agate  set  in  gold,"  etc. 

2  Das   Metaphorische  in  der  dichterischen    Phantasie,  p.  4.     Cf.    Dryden, 
Works,  V  120  :     "  Imaging  is  in  itself  the  very  height  and  life  of  poetry." 


xvi  INTRODUCTION. 

Fletcher,  there  is  a  considerable  falling  off  in  intensity  and  power 
in  the  imagery  of  the  later  drama.  In  the  case  of  Ford,  certainly, 
I  have  found  this  so  after  a  careful  study,  and  Mr.  Lowell1  has 
noted  in  Massinger  the  lack  of  the  inspired  word  and  the  pictur- 
esque image.  In  any  event  the  earlier  period  was  the  forma- 
tive period  and  perhaps  on  the  whole,  at  least  to  the  student 
of  literarv  history  and  development,  the  more  important  and 
interesting  one. 

'Old  Eng.  Dramatists,  127, 


GORBODUC  AND  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF 
THE  ELIZABETHAN   DRAMA 


GORBODUC  AND  THE  BEGINNINGS  OF 
THE  ELIZABETHAN  DRAMA. 

The  diction  of  the  earlier  English  drama,  of  the  miracle  plays 

and  the  moralities,  is  generally  colorless.     Figures,  and  especially 

the  significant  and  highly  poetical  figures  of  meta- 

Pre-Elizabethan    hor  and  simile    are   ljule   used       The   interest    is 

Dramatic  ....  J" 

Ima  concentrated  on  the  situation,  moral  or  dramatic, 

and  on  the  characters  of  the  speakers,  types  of  uni- 
versal humanity  or  personifications  of  fundamental  abstractions. 
The  naive  and  simple  effect  of  the  miracle  plays  for  the  modern 
reader  is  intensified  by  the  severe  and  literal  plainness  of  the  lan- 
guage employed.  One  reads  on  for  page  after  page  without 
encountering  a  single  conscious  and  literary  metaphor.  The  poet 
has  been  taught  or  he  invents  for  himself  the  most  elaborate  and 
intricate  stanzaic  and  rhyming  schemes.  But  his  diction  other- 
wise is  singularly  unelaborate.  Occasionally  a  comparison  illu- 
minates a  passage  : 

Humanum  Genus.     Whom  to  folwe  wetyn  I  ne  may  : 
I  stonde  in  stodye  and  gynne  to  rave, 

I  wolde  be  ryche  in  gret  array, 
And  fayn  I  wolde  my  sowle  save. 

I  wave  as  wynde  in  watyr.1 

Such  touches,  however,  are  rare. 

In  coming  to  the  later  moralities  and  interludes  we  find  no 
improvement.  The  dreary  didacticism  of  these  pieces  is  relieved 
only  by  the  introduction  of  scriptural  phraseology  and  conven- 
tional biblical  metaphors.  It  is  a  purely  national  and  popular 
literature,  unawakened  by  foreign  influence.2    Occasionally  a  con- 

1  The  Castell  of  Perseverance,  in  Pollard,  p.  67. 

2  The  English  ballad  literature  also  is  severely  plain  in  its  diction.  Profes- 
sor Gummere  (Old  English  Ballads,  Boston  1894,  p.  309)  remarks  that  in  the 
old  ballads  "  metaphors  are  rare  in  any  artistic  and  intentional  sort  .  .  .  similes 

3 


4  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

tinental  motive  appears  and  lends  interest  for  the  moment  to  a 
passage,  as  in  the  song  appended  to  The  Disobedient  Child?  recall- 
ing faintly  Villon  :2 

"Where  is  now  Salomon,  in  wisdom  so  excellent? 
Where  is  now  Samson,  in  battle  so  strong?  .   .  . 
.   .   .   How  short  a  feast  is  this  worldly  joying? 
Even  as  a  shadow  it  passeth  away   .   .   . 
.   .   .  As  a  leaf  in  a  stormy  weather, 
So  is  man's  life  blowen  clean  away." 

The  conception  of  character  and  the  feeling  for  dramatic  sit- 
uation were  present  in  the  English  drama  before  the  introduction 
of  Renaissance  and   Italian   influences  in  the   six- 
Influence  of        teenth  century.      But  the    medium    of    a  poetical 

Foreign  Models    ,.   ..  ,     *,      ,  ,  ,     ,  .  ™u . 

*,.  ,    diction  and  of  adequate  form  was  lacking.      Ihis 

on  Diction  and  ^  ° 

Imagery  was  to  ^e  obtained  only  by  recourse  to  foreign  influ- 

ence and  to  foreign  models.  The  movement  which 
was  going  on  so  rapidly  in  English  poetry  during  the  sixteenth 
century  naturally  and  inevitably  spread.  It  quickly  invaded  the 
field  of  dramatic  writing.  At  first  the  foreign  influence  seizes 
only  upon  the  learned  and  cultured  classes.  The  movement  is 
experimental  and  academic.  Popular  taste  is  slew  to  accept  it, 
and  in  fact  never  does  completely  accept  it.  Two  important 
things,  however,  in  respect  of  .literary  form  finally  prevail  in  the 
national  drama  as  in  the  national  poetry,  namely,  the  foreign 
ideals  of  versification,  and  the  impulse  toward  imagery  and  poet- 
ical ornament.  In  introducing  the  first  of  these  reforms  into  the 
drama  two  men  rendered  preeminent  services  :  Thomas  Sackville, 
who  first  in  Gorboduc  introduced  blank  verse  into  the  English 
drama,  and  Christopher  Marlowe,  who  first  developed  the  latent 
capacities  of  this  verse,  and  established  it  upon  the  popular  stage. 
The  gradual  introduction  into  the  drama  of  striking  and  poetical 
diction  is  more  difficult  to  trace.    There  is,  however,  little  signifi- 

are  few  and  rarely  sustained."  Indeed  it  is  safe  to  say  that,  with  few  exceptions, 
the  entire  literature  of  the  Middle  English  period  after  Chaucer  is  characterized 
by  poverty  of  imagery  and  scanty  use  of  metaphor  and  simile.  Allegory  how- 
ever abounds. 

1  In  Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  II  319-320. 

"See,  on  the  Ubi  Sunt  Formula,  Modern  Lang.  Notes,  vol.  VIII  187. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  ELIZABETHAN  DRAMA.  5 

cant  imagery  before  the  plays  of  the  dramatists  included  in  this 
study- 
Foreign  influence  as  affecting  the  drama  in  a  marked  degree 
first  appears  in  the  tragedy  of  Gorboduc  {Ferrex  6°  Porrex,  acted 
1 56 1,  appearing  in  its  final  form  in  1570).     Gorbo- 

Gorboduc,  its      duc  .g  a  highly  academic  production,  written  in  the 

Imagery  ,  .         .  .  .     , 

atmosphere  of  court  and  university,  with  political 

moralization  for  a  motive.  It  is  constructed  in  the  main  on  the 
Senecan  model,  and  is  significant  in  the  history  of  the  dramatic 
diction  of  the  age  of  Elizabeth  as  being  practically  the  first  con- 
siderable dramatic  production  to  signalize  and  illustrate  the  new 
classical  and  Italian  influence  which  was  to  inspire  and  inform 
anew  the  tardy  literature  of  Modern  England.  This  influence  at 
first,  and  in  so  far  as  concerns  Gorboduc  and  plays  of  its  class1  at 
all  times,  was  mainly  formal.  There  is  hardly  a  touch  of  the  unmis- 
takable and  mighty  poetic  diction  of  the  great  Elizabethan  drama 
to  be  found  in  Gorboduc.  Occasionally,  it  is  true,  we  are  reminded 
of  the  famous  author  of  the  weighty  Induction  to  the  Mirror  for 
Magistrates;  but  the  style  on  the  whole  is  rhetorical  and  declam- 
atory rather  than  dramatic.  Parallelism  and  antithesis  abound. 
The  classical  allusions  and  the  poetical  formulae  and  phrases  are 
those  of  the  contemporary  schools  of  poets,  the  school  of  Tottel's 
Miscellany,  of  Gascoigne,  and  even  of  Spenser.  The  mediaeval  \  . 
tendency  to  didactic  allegory  is  prominent  in  the  dumb  shows 
and  in  the  choruses  following  each  act.  Personification,  not  bold 
and  direct,  but  more  or  less  hidden  and  conventionalized,  is  fre- 
quent,— e.  g.,  "When  time  hath  taught  them,"  "climbing  pride,"2 
etc.  *  Similar  abstractions,  in  the  formal  poetic  diction  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  are  written  with  capital  letters  and  pass  as 
undoubted  personifications.  The  effect  is  the  same  in  both  cases, 
—  to  remove  the  style  from  prose  and  create  for  the  author  a  new 
and  easy  pseudo-poetic  diction.    Formal  and  direct  personification 

'Such  as  The  Misfortunes  of  Arthur,  and  the  academic  drama  of  Daniel, 
Sir  Wm.  Alexander,  etc. 

2  As  in  this  phrase  so  frequently  elsewhere  the  personification  is  estab- 
lished by  the  help  of  a  personifying  adjective.  Cf.  also  p.  14  11.  2-4;  p.  22  11. 
5-8  ;   p.  23  1.  15  ;   p.  25  11.  7-8  ;   p.  41  1.  17. 


6  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

also  is  used  :  p.  6  the  classical  Aurora,  for  the  dawn;  p.  30  1.  12  ; 
cf.  p.  59  : 

"I  think  the  torment  of  my  mournful  case,  .... 
Would  force  even  Wrath  herself  to  pity  me." 

The  imagery  of  the  piece  in  general  however  is  faint  and  timid.1 
The  immaturity  of  its  diction  is  revealed  in  the  fact  that  most  of 
the  imagery  is  expressed  in  adjectives.  This  is  an  example  of  the 
characteristic  style  of  Gorboduc  : 

"  For  cares  of  kings   .... 
Do  waste  man's  life  and  hasten  crooked  age, 
With,  furrowed  face  and  with  enfeebled  limbs, 
To  draw  on  creeping  death  a  swifter  pace."2 

" Ruthful  remembrance  is  yet  raw  in  mind."3 

''black  treason,"4  etc. 

The  coloring  is  mostly  classical,  although  the  classical  allu- 
sions are  not  numerous:  the  chief  are  to  Phaeton,  pp.  23  and  37  ; 
Aurora,  p.  6  ;  Tantalus,  p.  29  ;  Troy  and  Priam,  p.  44;  the  Furies, 
pp.  53  and  70  ;  etc.  There  are  few  striking  figures.  Three 
formal  and  expanded  similes  occur,  —  the  first  an  example  or 
illustration  as  much  as  a  simile  :  See  p.  37  11.  4-9  ;  p.  59  11. 
22-24;  p.  64  11.  11-14.     See  also  p.  75  1.  10. 

It  is  natural  that  in  an  imitative  and  academic  production  the 
imagery  should  be  somewhat  stiff  and  conventional.  The 
imagery  of  Gorboduc  accordingly  is  not  organic,  but  is  conscious 
and  ornamental.  The  frequency  of  only  slightly  metaphorical 
tropes  (e.  g.  "slender  quarrels,"  "to  kindle  disdain,"  "heavy 
care,"  "  decaying  years,"  etc.)  of  itself  connotes  a  designedly 
poetic  or  rhetorical  style,  as  does  the  undercurrent  of  personifi- 

1 "  Sackville  ecrivait  bien,  avec  eloquence  et  avec  nettete,  mais  sa  langue 

e"tait  plus  oratoire  que  poetique Jamais  .  .   .  il  ne  se  permettait  aucune 

audace,  aucun  elan  de  pure  fantaisie  ;  jamais  il  ne  colorait  sa  pensee,  jamais  il 
ne  la  revetait  de  ces  brillantes  images,  de  ces  ornements  splendides  qui,  chez 
les  peuples  du  Nord,  constituent  l'essence  meme  de  la  poesie."  (Mezieres,  Pred. 
et  Cont.  de  Shaks.  p.  101). 

2  Sackville's  Works,  p.  14. 

3  Id.  p.  21. 
*Id,  p.  62. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  THE  ELIZABETH  AN  DRAMA.  7 

cation  throughout  the  piece.  Otherwise  there  is  little  that  is 
significant  or  original  in  its  imagery.  In  one  place  there  is  a 
reminiscence  of  Chaucer  : 

"Then  saw  I  how  he  smiled  with  slaying  knife 
Wrapped  under  cloak."1 

The  most  frequent  metaphor,  extremely  common  also  in  the 
later  drama,  is  that  of  fire  :   e.  g.,  p.  48  : 

"The  secret  grudge  and  malice  will  remain, 
The  fire  not  quenched,  but  kept  in  close  restraint, 
Fed  still  within,  breaks  forth  with  double  flame."3 

—  an  early  example  also  of  the  "implied  simile"  common  in 
all  the  later  drama. 

On  the  whole  Gorboduc  seems  to  have  exercised  little  influ- 
ence over  the  diction  of  the  regular  Elizabethan  drama.  It 
belongs  rather  with  the  learned  and  imitative  poetry  of  the  last 
half  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Much  of  the  imagery  of  the  Eliza- 
bethan drama  however  is  drawn  from  this  poetry  and  from  the 
imitations  of  the  original  sources  in  classical  and  Italian  litera- 
ture, as  will  appear  in  the  study  of  Peele,  Greene,  and  Marlowe. 

'Id.  p.  63.     Cf.  Chaucer,  Knight's  Tale,  1.  1141. 
2Cf.  pp.  22,  39,  45,  47,  49,  62,  84. 


JOHN   LYLY 

1554-1606  ? 


Acted 

Published 

Vol.         Pages 

I58l? 

I5S4 

Alexander  and  Campaspe 

-       I      89-151 

I5S2? 

I5S4 

Sapho  and  Phao 

I  i55~2I4 

I58S? 

J591 

Endimion       - 

-     I       4-86 

1587? 

J592 

Gallathea 

I  21 7-276 

I59O? 

J592 

My  das  -          -                    - 

-  II       3-  69 

J594 

Mother  Bombie  - 

11     73-U7 

I589? 

1 60 1 

Love's  Metamorphosis 

-   II  215-259 

JOHN   LYLY. 

The  chief  importance  of  Gorboduc  in  the  history  of  the  Eng- 
lish drama  is   that   it   first   introduced  blank  verse  as  a  dramatic 
medium.     Similarly,  according  to  Professor  A.  W. 
Lyly's  Diction,   Ward ,  and   to  Tjirici?*   LyIy>s  chief  service  was  the 

its  Chief  Char-  ,       .  ,  .     . 

....         ,    introduction    of  an    artistic    prose  as    a  dramatic 

Influence  medium.      Earlier  instances  of  the  use  of  prose   in 

dramatic  writing  can  doubtless  be  cited,  but  Lyly 
was  the  first  to  establish  the  model  for  such  writing  in  the  new 
drama.  "When  we  consider."  says  Ulrici,  "that  Lyly  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  was  the  creator  of  dramatic  prose,  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  he  at  that  early  date  handled  it  with  an  ingenuity 
worthy  of  all  praise."  For  Lyly's  prose  in  a  certain  sense  is  a 
poetical  prose.  To  speak  paradoxically  his  style  is  not  prosaic 
and  pedestrian,  like  that,  for  example,  of  Sir  Thomas  Wilson  in 
the  same  half  century.  It  is  lucid,  it  is  ornamented,  it  is  often 
rhythmical,3  abounding  in  balance,  measure,  and  antithesis.  All 
this  was  not  without  its  influence  on  the  dramatic  diction  of  the 
age.  The  lightness  and  the  occasional  mannerism  of  Shak- 
spere's  prose  is  suggestive  of  that  of  Lyly.  Euphuism  was  symp- 
tomatic of  the  literary  tendencies  of  the  time.4  The  Euphuism 
characteristic  of  Lyly  was  naturally  subdued  in  his  plays  because 
of  the  necessities  of  dramatic  form.  For  this  very  reason,  perhaps, 
the  real  characteristics  of  Lyly's  style  can  better  be  studied  in  the 
plays  than  in  the  more  exaggerated  form  of  his  prose  romance. 

Most  of  the  characteristics  of  Euphuism  pointed  out  by 
Euphuism  in  Landmann 5  and  other  critics6  are  to  be  found  in  the 
the  Plays  plays,  including 

■Hist.  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.  (Lond.  1875),  P-  T59- 
3 Shakespeare's  Dramatic  Art,  Vol.  I  ch.  vii. 

3See  as  examples  of  stichomythy  in  Lyly  I  21,  II  227,  250,  etc.;  of  meas- 
ured prose  II  39-40,  225,  etc. 

4Cf.  Symonds,  Shakspere's  Predecessors,  ch.  xiii. 
5  Landmann,  Euphues  (Heilbronn  1887). 
6Minto,  Symonds,  etc. 


1 1 


12  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

(i)  Parisonic  Antithesis  :  for  example,  "Seeing  we  come  out 
to  be  merry,  let  not  your  jarring  mar  our  jests;"1  "Bees  that  die 
with  honey,  are  buried  with  harmony."2  Usually  combined  with 
this,  as  in  the  two  examples  just  quoted,  is 

(2)  Transverse  and  simple  alliteration  :   examples, 
"To  attribute  such  Mty  /itles  to  such  Awe  /rifles."3 
"A  dotage  no  less  miserable  than  wonstrous;"4 

"  I  go  ready  to  return  for  advice  before  I  am  ^solved  to  adven- 
ture."5 

(3)  Plays  on  words  and  paronomasia  :  examples, 

"Thou  to  abate  the  pride  of  our  affections,  dost  detract  from 
thy  perfections;"6  "The  lee-simple  of  your  daughter's  folly" 7 
"Let  me  cross  myself,  for  I  die  if  I  cross  thee."8 

(4)  The  heaping  up  of  illustrations,  similes,  and  examples  :  as 
in  Act  II,  Scene  I  of  Endimion: 

"  Tellus.  Why  !  is  dissembling  joined  to  their  sex  inseparable  ? 
As  heat  to  fire,  heaviness  to  earth,  moisture  to  water,  thinness  to 
air  ? 

Endimion.  No,  but  found  in  their  sex,  as  common  as  spots 
upon  doves,  moles  upon  faces,  caterpillars  upon  sweet  apples, 
cobwebs  upon  fair  windows."9 

(5)  The  abundant  introduction  of  an  unnatural  natural  his- 
tory.10 This  euphuistic  natural  history  can  be  traced  through  all 
the  succeeding  dramatists  ;  it  derives  from  Euphues  directly  per- 
haps as  much  as  from  the  plays,  though  of  course  the  fashion 
was  not  started  by  Lyly. 

1  Lyly  I  23. 

2Id.  I  179;  see  also  I  18,  20,  1 12,  and  passim  frequently. 

3  Lyly  I  5. 

*Id.  I  6. 

sid.  I  172. 

6Id.  I  7. 

?  Id.  II  78. 

8Id.  I  117;  See  also  I  15,  16,  22,  39,  51,  83,  97,  101,  III,  116,  119,  126, 
129,  141,  157,  158,  162,  184,  197,  202,  220,  224,  231,  233,  247,  248,  250-1,  261, 
275;  II  7,  10,  12,  13,  14,  15,  21.  22,  24,  25,  26,  29,  36,  41,  48,  62,  81,  84,  86, 
96,  99,  102,  117,  i2i,  126,  134,  142,  147,  185,  217,  218,  etc. 

9  Lyly  I  20-21  ;  see  also  II  26,  200,  and  passim. 

10 See  infra,  p.  17. 


joi/x  lyly.  13 

Figures  of  speech,  in  the  stricter  sense  of  the  ancient  rhetori- 
cians, especially  anthithesis,  balance,  alliteration,  and  parono- 
masia, are  thus,  we  see,  among  the  most  striking  characteristics 
of  Lyly's  style.  He  treats  language  lightly,1  deliberately,  and 
with  conscious  artifice.  He  is  perpetually  striving  to  wrest  it 
into  conceits  and  all  sorts  of  witty  perversions.  This  is  a  fair 
specimen  of  the  customary  language  of  his  lovers  : 

"  My  tears,  which  have  made  furrows  in  my  cheeks  and  in 
mine  eves  fountains  ;  my  sighs,  which  have  made  of  my  heart  a 
furnace,1  and  kindled  in  my  head  flames;  my  body  that  melteth 
by  piecemeal  and  my  mind  that  pineth  at  an  instant,  may  witness 
that  my  love  is  both  unspotted  and  unspeakable."3 

Lyly's  sprightlv  dialogue  deals  largely  in  quips,  such  as  he 
himself  has  defined  in  Alexander  and  Campaspe : 

"JPsyllus:     What's  a  quip? 

Manes:  We  great  girders  call  it  a  short  saying  of  a  sharp 
wit,  with  a  bitter  sense  in  a  sweet  word." 

The  manner  of  Lyly  at  his  best  and  liveliest  is  plainly  the 
prototvpe  of  Shakspere's  lighter  manner,  as  it  appears,  for 
instance,  in  such  plays  as  Much  Ado  and  As  You  Like  It. 

Probably  nine-tenths  of  Lyly's  figures  are  of  the  nature  of 
conceits.4  They  are  intellectual  and  involve  a  process  of  reason- 
ing; rarely  are  they  emotional  and  imaginative.  And  so  with 
his  style  generally,  contrasting  with  the  frequently  imaginative 
and    "emotional"5    prose   of    Sidney.      Lyly   is    not   altogether 

1  "  Plaving  with  words  and  idle  similes,"  was  Drayton's  exact  comment  on 
Lyly.     ("  To  Henry  Reynolds  "  —  irf  Chalmer's  Poets  IV  399). 

2Cf.  As  You  Like  It  .\\  vii  148:  "The  lover,  Sighing  like  furnace." 
Elsewhere  Lyly  carries  the  same  metaphor  still  further  and  speaks  of  a  heart 
"scorcht  with  love  "(II  170,  cf.  251);  similarly  (I  78):  "  I  fried  myself  ...  in 
mine  affections."  This  was  a  favorite  in  the  time  of  Cowley  and  somewhat 
later.  A  similar  conceit  however  "occurs  in  Chapman's  (?)  Alphonsus  (p.  405): 
"My  marrow  fries;"  and  in  Jonson's  Poetaster  (I  211  a):  "When  earth  and 
seas  in  fire  and  flame  shall  fry." 

3  Lyly  II  17. 

*  For  a  particularly  bad  one  see  II  18:  —  "Thy  effeminate  mind,  Erislus, 
whose  eves  are  sticht  on  Coelia's  face."  See  also  for  further  examples  of  con- 
ceit in  Lyly,  I  40,  69,  72,  223,  248,  257  ;  II  10,  16,  18,  21,  33,  35,  42,  49.  57  '-. 
74  f.,  113-114,   128.  170,  232,  236,  etc. 

5Cf.  Sidney's  Defense  of  Poesy,  ed.  A.  S.  Cook,  In  trod.  p.  xxvi. 


M  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

unconscious  of  the  quality  of  his  own  style,  as  a  sentence  from  the 
Epilogue  to  Sapho  and Phao  reveals  :  "We  fear  we  have  led  you 
all  this  while  in  a  labyrinth  of  conceits."  Conceits  run  well  with 
the  antithetical  and  balanced  structure.  Both  are  formal  and 
intellectual.  In  Aristotle's  phrase1  it  is  "a  style  which  has  a 
resemblance  to  a  syllogism." 

If  Lyly  has  little  imagination  he  has  much  restless  fancy.  He 
is  not  abundant  in  metaphor,  and  such  metaphors  as  he  has  are  con- 
ventional and  clever  rather  than  intensive.  His  images  are  not 
suggestive  and  emotional,  but  are  almost  always  explicit.  By  way 
of  compensation  for  his  dearth  of  metaphor  his  pages  swarm  with 
similes.  He  especially  affects  the  implied  simile  or  imperfect  alle- 
gory, where  the  terms  of  the  comparison  are  either  stated  without 
the  sign  of  likeness  or  one  term  is  omitted  entirely.    For  example  : 

"Away,  peevish  boy,  a  rod  were  better  under  thy  girdle,  than 
love  in  thv  mouth  ;  it  will  be  a  forward  cock  that  croweth  in  the 
shell."2 

This  is  a  favorite  form  for  introducing  the  illustrations  drawn 
from  euphuistic  natural  history.3 

Beside  their  indiscriminate  Latin  quotation  Lyly's  plays  are 
streaked  throughout  with  a  sort  of  pseudo-classicism,  the  over- 
flow of  the  runlets  of  mediaeval  anecdotes  from  classical  sources.4 

Peele  and  Greene,  however,  abound  more  in  this  sort  of  thing 
than  Lyly,  who  presumably  does  not  go  beyond  the  limits  of 
the  court  taste. 

To  sustain  his  familiar  and  sprightly  style  Lyly  draws  largely 
for  his  comparisons  upon  domestic  and  colloquial  sources.5 
Formal  personifications  he  uses  but  rarely.6 

'See  Aristotle's  Rhetoric,  bk.  Ill  ch.  ix  on  the  Antithetical  Style;  where- 
under  of  Parisosis  and  Paromoiosis  —  the  very  traits  of  Lyly's  style. 

2  Lyly  I  22;  see  also  I  32,  79,  89-91,  III,  112,  133,  155,  156,  169,  171,  179, 
191,  192,  237,  250,  251,  266;   II  II,  118,  230,  231,  232,  250,  255,  etc. 

3E.  g.  I  89,  127,  178,  179,  182.  183,  192,  255,  etc. 

4E.  g.  I  89-91,  no  (Hercules'  spindle  and  Achilles'  spear),  150  (Demos- 
thenes), 151  (Diomedes);  II  68  (Apollo  and  Aurora),  157  (a  conventional  series 
of  similes  from  classical  mythology) ;  and  many  others. 

5  See  infra,  p.  18. 

6E.  g.  I  68  (Ingratitude,  Envy,  Treachery),  72,  135,  157  ;  II  19,  25  (Ambi- 
tion, cf.  205),  156,  215,  223. 


JOHN  LYLY.  15 

Out  of  this  incongruous  whole  there  results  a  certain  effect  of 
unity  and  of  charm.  It  is  a  Dresden-china  world  ;  it  is  writing 
of  a  wholly  artificial  species  ;  but  it  has  a  grace  and  beauty  of  its 
own.  Naturally  it  is  not  to  be  subjected  to  the  same  analysis 
that  we  should  apply  to  a  more  robust  and  realistic  art.  It  is  a 
style  that  depends  largely  upon  figures  of  speech  and  upon  con- 
scious and  formal  tropes.  Lyly's  imagery  is  entirely  ornamental. 
It  matters  little  where  it  is  introduced.  It  is  adventitious,  not  a 
part  of  the  thought.  It  is  largely  imitative  of  foreign  models.1 
Its  influence,  however,  appears  plainlv  in  the  contemporary 
drama,  and  it  is  therefore  important  to  study  the  sources  and 
range  of  his  imagery  somewhat  more  in  detail. 

RANGE  OF  HIS  IMAGERY. 
Similes  and  illustrations  drawn  from  a  fabulous  natural  his- 
tory, it  is  well  known,  are  the  chief  characteristics  of  Lyly's  style." 
Outside  of  these,  however,  and  within  the  restrictions  of  his 
peculiar  manner,  the  range  of  his  nature  imagery  is  not  incon- 
siderable. Almost  everything,  it  is  true,  is  conventional  and 
courtly,  and  Lyly  doubtless  was  little  observant  of  nature.  But 
it  is  the  fashion  of  the  Euphuistic  school  to  draw  upon  nature  in 
one  way  or  another,  and  the  effect  is  generally  pleasing. 

NATURE:  Aspects  of  the  Sky,  the  Elements,  etc.  Of  these  I 
have  noted  some  fifty  references  in  the  eight  plays  studied  :  II 
232  (the  thousand  thoughts  of  a  woman's  heart  are  compared  to 
the  infinite  stars  and  to  the  sundry  colors  of  the  rainbow),  II 
160  ("  O,  eyes,  more  fair  than  is  the  morning  star").3 

II  176.     "Neither  Daphne  in  the  spring, 

Nor  glistering  Thetis  in  her  orient  robe, 
Nor  shame-fast  morning  girt  in  silver  clouds, 
Are  half  so  lovely  as  this  earthly  saint." 

II  189  (the  sunshine  of  her  eyes),  II  35  (beauty  dazzles);  II 
158  (to  darken);  Shadows  II  228;  Storms  II  168,  172,  1.83 ; 
Wind   I    137,  II   182,   159;  Stars  (cf.  I  53  the  heavens  tiled  with 

1  Cf.  Dr.  Landmann,  Euphues,  for  a  discussion   of  the  sources  of   Lyly's 

style. 

2Symonds,  Shaks.  Pred.  p.  512. 
3Cf.  Greene,  168  b. 


1 6  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

stars)  I  79,  II  42,  158,  164,  172;  Moon  I  93,  II  157  ;  Clouds  II 
158,  159,  165,  176  (a  common  metaphor  in  Chapman,  Ben 
Jonson,  etc.) ;  Rainbow  I  150  ;  Fire  I  48  (to  kindle  love),  78,  96, 
112,  116,  133,  137,  146,  158,  204,  213,  232,  256,  II  17,  103,  170, 
182,  215,  251 — cf.  105,  118,  I  91  (torches);  Frozen  II  131  (frozen 
conscience),  166;  The  Seasons  II  166  ("Sorrow's  winter "),  200. 
Aspects  of  the  Water,  Seas,  etc.,  appear  but  little    in  Lyly  : 

I  45  (the  ebb  and  flow  of  love),  137,  150,  II  26,  167,  231,  235; 
e.  g.  II  225  ("Niobe  is  tender-hearted,  whose  thoughts  are  like 
water,  yielding  to  everything,  and  nothing  to  be  seen");  Dew  I 
148  ;  II  201,  231. 

Aspects  of  the  Earth :  The  Metals  :  golden  is  a  favorite  adjec- 
tive with  Lyly, —  I  19  ("My  golden  years"),  28  (cf.  II  82),  44, 
256,  II  16,  21,  42,  191,  240,  246  ;   Leaden  I  44  ("  leaden  sleep  "), 

II  82,  240  ;  Steel  II  27,  250  ;  I  143  (the  rust  of  idleness);  Iron  I 
151  ;  Silver  II  189,  194,  246  ;  Dross  II  27  ;  Precious  stones  I  73, 
93,  in,  199,  250,  II  82,  191;  Crystal  I  12 9,  II  156;  Flint  II  209. 

The  Vegetable  World :  Growth  I  8,  10,  75,  II  97,  162  ;  Trees 
I  22  (cedar),  148,  250,  32  (cf.  II  83),  I  133,  169,  191  ;  Ivy  I  22  ; 
Flowers  I  29  (Youth  the  "flowering  time"),  cf.  II  159,  246,  I  33, 
171,  199  ;  II  20  ("beautv  in  a  minute  is  both  a  blossom  and  a 
blast"),  241,  256,  160,  1  78  ;  Hay  and  grass  I  29,  II  241  ;  Fruit 
I  in,  171. 

The  Animal  World  is  for  Lyly  a  frequent  source  of  similes, 
but  chiefly  in  the  range  of  a  fabulous  natural  history.  Outside 
of  this  range  the  following  may  be  mentioned:  Crab  I  127, 
Caterpillars  I  21;  Spiders  I  21  (cobweb);  Wasp  I  82,  cf.  192;  Bees 

I  151  (wax),  II  27,  105,  167,  178,  207,  232  ;  Bat  I  91  ;  Wings  II 
197  ("  O  that  thy  steeds  were  winged  with  my  swift  thoughts."); 

II  256  ("A  mind  lighter  than  feathers"),  II  258;  Parrot  I  82; 
Swan  I  91;  Larks  I  133;  Pigeons  I  184;  Serpent  I  82,  192; 
Hare  I  90  ;  Lion  II  46,  157  ;  Deer  I  90,  127  ;  Dog  I  108,  II  135  ; 
Horse  II  79  (withers  wrung1),  I  241  (unbridled),  253;  Ivory  II 
189;  Wolves  I  19;  Ape  II  200,  246;   Glowworms  II  189: 

"As  bright  as  glow-worms  in  the  night, 
With  which  the  morning  decks  her  lover's  hair." 

rCf.  Hamlet  III  ii,  237. 


JOHN  LYLY.  17 

The  Fabulous  Natural  History,  as  has  been  noted,  is  less 
prominent  in  Lylv's  plavs  than  in  his  romance  of  Euphues.  The 
chief  instances  are  as  follows:  Adamant  II  23,  170,  192,  219; 
Asbestos  I  203  ;  Origanum  I  155  ;  Basel  I  89  ;  Ebony  I  28  ;  Beet 
I  144  (of  Macedonia);  the  tree  Salurus  I  161  ;  Syrian  Mud  I  169; 
Various  Plants  I  170,  171,  190  (Lunary),  192,  240,  244,  250;  II 
237;  Fish  I  19,  in,  190;  Basilisk  II  191;  Griffin  I  155,237; 
Cameleon  I  45  ;  Phoenix  I  46,  89,  cf.  207  ;  Cockatrice  I  127  ; 
Salamander  II  233  ;  Insects  I  133,  155,  205,  179,  183,  203  (bite 
of  Tarantula  cured  by  music),  II  26;  Worms  I  45,  II  20,  I  150, 
180,  II  26,  94  ;  Serpent  I  90,  172,  II  26  ;  Birds  I  22,  164,  89,  90, 
156,  191,  251,  109  (lapwing),  II  109,  I  179  (swan's  song),  II  233, 
I  192  (Halcyon),  251  (Ibis),  II  35,  232  ;  Ermine  I  11 1  ;  Bear  I 
155  (blasts  with  its  breath);  Wolf  II  230  ;  Polypus  II  231  ;  etc. 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE:  The  Fine  Arts,  Literature,  Learning, 
etc.,  naturally  appear  but  little  in  Lyly's  comparisons.  Music  is 
mentioned  several  times:  I  40,  108,  125,  II  92,  232  (a  lady's 
heart  like  a  lute);  Painting  I  45  (Time  a  portrait-painter),  141, 
242,  II  82,  153,  164  (painted  plumes),  200  ;  Similes  from  the 
Stage  :  I  221,  II  99,  to6,  108,  182  ;  Books  I  52,  115,  163,  II  25; 
Law  I  59,  II  78;  II  125  (the  rent-racking  of  wit),  137  ;  Medical  : 
Salve  I  112,  II  166,  170;  Various  I  45  ("  Thy  gray  hairs  are 
ambassadors  of  experience"),  II  27  ("to  make  inclosure  of  your 
mind");  I  108  (Money  is  Diogenes's  slave),  I  259  (to  lackey 
after);  I  128  ("life  posting  to  death,  a  death  galloping  from 
life"). 

The  Practical  Arts  and  Occupations  :  Agriculture,  I  36,  90, 
125,  II  86  (sow  and  reap),  92,  166  (harvest  of  love);  II  17 
(furrows  in  cheek);  Weaving  II  3,  228;  Lapidaries  1  91  ;  Engrav- 
ing, printing  I  66,  78,  141,  270,  273,11  170;  Prentice  1  174 
(prentice  to  Fortune),  251,  II  255  ;  II  240  (bellows,  forge,  etc.);  250 
(like  melting  iron);  I  34  (rough-hewn  soldiers);  II  26  ("Is  not  the 
country  walled  with  huge  waves?");1  II  89  (head  full  of  ham- 
mers). 

Amusements  and  Games:  Cards  I  123;  Hawking  II  11,  187, 
190,  218  ;    75  and  91  (mewed  up);   To  angle  for  I   73. 

'Cf.  Greene,  158s. 


1 8  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Colloquial  and  Familiar  Images,  together  with  images  taken 
from  domestic  life,  are  a  specialty  in  the  gentle  and  courtly  style 
of  Lyly.  "  His  comedies  were  .  .  .  new  creations.  .  .  .  He  invented 
a  species,"  says  Symonds.1  Lyly's  comic  power  is  not  great,  but 
one  of  the  elements  of  comic  effect  here  made  use  of,  the  appeal 
to  colloquial,  familiar,  and  domestic  life,  was  afterwards  employed 
by  nearly  all  the  writers  of  comic  scenes.  Chapman  and  Ben 
Jonson  are  particularly  profuse  in  images  of  this  sort.  The 
chief  examples  from  Lyly  are  :  I  35  (love  milks  the  thoughts);  38 
("He  hath  taken  his  thoughts  a  hole  lower");  40  ("tountrusse 
the  points  of  his  heart");  59  (commit  her  tongue  prisoner  to 
her  mouth);  62  (to  "step  to  age  by  stairs");  69  (take  the 
wall  of,  etc.);2  71  (wear  the  nap  of  your  wit  quite  off);  70 
(chin  anfledged);  135  (Truth's  face  scratched);  141,  178,  (to 
wrastle  with  love);  249  (thoughts  made  hailfellows  with  the  gods); 
II  21  ("  gold  is  but  the  earth's  garbage,  a  weed");  86  ("  truanted 
from  honesty  ");3  89  (coistrels);  97  ("an  idiot  of  the  newest  cut"); 
219  ("thy  words  as  unkembd  as  thy  locks");  cf.  II  107,  no,  91- 
92  ("this  metaphor  from  ale");   Breeds  I  276,  II  3,  7,  243. 

Domestic  Life:  I  5  ("my  thoughts  .  .  .  are  stitched  to  the 
stars"),  cf.  249,  II  18,  218;  1  156  (a  needle's  point);  Sewing  II  82, 
85,  In;  Dress  I  19  ("as  a  cloak  for  mine  affections"),  1S5  (fine 
ladies  —  like  fine  wool  which  wears  quickly);  cf.  II  44  (to  shroud), 
II  97,  113,  114,  201;  Affections  II  182  ("the  western  wind,  That 
kisses  flowers,  and  wantons  with  their  leaves");  Divorcing  I  19; 
I  14  (war  "rocks  asleep  my  thoughts"),  158  ("She  hath  her 
thoughts  in  a  string");  I  126  (reason  must  wean  what  appetite 
nursed);  so  I  184,  223  ;  36  ("  that  bauble  called  love  ");  I  49  ("  I 
have  no  playfellow  but  fancy,  .  .  .  and  make  my  thoughts  my 
friends");   II  176  ("levity  is  beauty's  waiting  maid"). 

The  Body  and  Its  Parts  :  I  6  ("  My  thoughts  have  no  veins, 
and  yet  unless  they  be  let  blood,  I  shall  perish  ");  I  20  (every  vein 
and  sinew  of  my  love),  cf.  II  228  ;  I  58  (prefers  the  body  of  truth 
to  the  tomb);   I  77  (the  wounds  of  love);  cf.  270,  112  ;    I   54  (the 

1  Shakspere's  Predecessors,  pp.  516,  532- 
JCf.  Ben  lonson,  II  4o8a. 
3Cf.  Chapman,  304*. 


JOHN  LYLY.  19 

rheum  of  love);  II  12  ^lips  are  the  door  of  the  mouth);  II  107  (a 
body  like  a  cask);  II  7  (love  is  the  marrow  of  the  mind);  II  19  (the 
grave's  mouth);  II  S  ("  gold  is  but  the  guts  of  the  earth"),  cf.  II 
19,25,  247,  1  267;  II  195  (the  thunder's  teeth);  I  19  ("my 
mangled  mind  "),  cf.  I  11 1  (a  crooked  mind),  cf.  I  112  (sighs 
cleave  the  heart);  83  (pinched  my  heart);  112  (wounded  thoughts); 
128  (the  canker  of  care),  cf.  II  223;  II  6,  245  (to  tickle  the  mind); 
Touch  I  64,  II  26;  To  creep  I  132  ;  To  pant  II  112. 

The  Senses  and  Appetites:  I  26  ("to  glut  their  eyes"); 
Surfeit  I  27,44.68,  112,  156,  1S1,  183,  192,  II  95,  83;  Food, 
Eating, etc.,  I  69  (love's  feast),  108,  252,  II  19  (eating  cares),1  215, 
35,  81,  S6  ;  Drinking  I  162,  205,  229  (Ship  in  a  storm  drinks  salt 
healths)  ;  I  1 84  ("  Silence  shall  disgest  what  folly  hath  swallowed  ")  ; 
II  25  (pampered  with  slaughter);  II  47  (to  taste  war  and  relish 
taxes)  ;  To  relish  II  83  ;  II  167  (honey  words,  sauced  with  gall) ; 
Sugared  II  3S  ;   Spice  II  90  ;   Sour  II  159. 

Death  and  its  Surroundings  :  I  72  (a  mouthful  of  bones  [teeth] 
like  a  charnel-house)  ;  I  72  ("go  to  the  sexton  and  tell  him  desire 
is  dead,  and  will  him  to  dig  his  grave") ;  I  in  (woman  is  like  a 
whited  sepulchre). 

A  few  commonplace  Images  of  War  occur  in  Lylv's  plays  : 
I  4S  (a  war  of  love  in  the  mind,  "instead  of  sweet  parleys"); 
Armory  I  52  ;  I  55  (their  wits  as  rusty  as  their  bills) ;  I  60  (the  com- 
bat of  love)  cf.  I  149,  250;  I  81  ("more  strength  in  a  true  heart 
than  in  a  walled  city") ;  I  83  ("let my  tongue  ransom  hers  ")  ;  II 
96  (the  face  a  scabbard  of  the  mind),  cf.  II  135,  18;  II  78  (to 
overshoot  oneself). 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.:  I  82  ("  tell  who  Eumenides 
shrineth  for  his  saint"),  cf.  II  16,  176;  Paradise  II  174,  cf.  II 
185  ;  Hell  II  179  ;  Magic  I  91  ;  Influence  of  Stars  I  221. 

A  number  of  Miscellaneous  Metaphors  and  Similes,  most  of  which 
frequently  reappear  in  later  writers,  remain  to  be  mentioned.  Most 
of  these  are  of  the  nature  of  conventional  poetical  tags  and  for- 
mulae, although  not  sufficiently  common  to  fall  under  the  class  of 
faded,  or  to  adopt  Max  Midler's  expression,  incarnate  metaphors. 
The  more  frequently  recurring  ones  are  characteristic  marks  of 

'Cf.  Horace  "  edaces  curae  "  (Carni.  2,  11,  iS,  etc.). 


2  0  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

the  poetic  diction  of  the  Elizabethan  drama:  Unspotted  I  iS 
(unspotted  love),  so  I  82,  273,  II  17,  258:  cf.  I  45,  50,  62,  80 
(unspotted  thoughts;  cf  II  234,  254),  I  213,  245,  251,  II  220; 
Melt  I  28,  37,  40  ("  your  sad  music  .  .  .  hath  so  melted  my  mind  ") 
141,  207,  II  17,  27,  250,  —  cf  II  131  (thaw);  Quench  I  48,  79 
("affection's  unquenchable"),  II  215,  223  ;  Poison  I  49,  77,  112 
(the  poison  of  love),  II  190;  Climbing  I  157,  178  (mounting),  II 
7,  19  (to  climb  the  steps  of  ambition),  25  ;  Mirror,  Glass,  etc.  I 
181,  II  155,  160  ("Thou  mirror  of  dame  Nature's  cunning 
work"),  218  (a  flatterer  is  a  glass);  Mould  II  37,  77>cr  I  45 
(image);  Pierce  I  58,  II  241  ("whose  heart  no  tears  could 
pierce");  Labvrinth  I  168,  214;  II  24  ("  Coelia  hath  sealed  her 
face  in  mv  heart") ;  Balances,  to  weigh,  etc.  I  81,  II  7,9;  To 
whet  I  117  (to  whet  one's  wits),  II  88;  II  18  ("thoughts  gyved 
to  her  beauty");  II  35  (thoughts  entangled  by  beauty)  ■  II  27, 
108  (wit  of  proof);  I  182  (filed  tongue, —  cf  II  219);  I  241 
(thoughts  unknit);  Counterfeit,  coin,  etc.  I  151,  II  76,  S9,  164, 
169;   Colors  II  11  (black). 


GEORGE  PEELE 

1552?-!  598? 


Acted 

Published 

I5S1? 

I5S4 

The  Arraignment  of  Paris 

I590? 

1593 

Edward  the  First 

I59O? 

J594 

The  Battle  of  Aleazar    - 

1595 

The  Old  Wives'  Tale  - 

I58S? 

J599 

David  and  Bethsabe 

ol. 

Pages 

I 

5" 

-     72 

I 

35- 

-2  17 

I 

227- 

-296 

I 

303- 

-347 

II       5-  86 


21 


GEORGE   PEELE. 

Peele's  imagery  has  received  some  praise.      Hawkins'  with 

curiously  bad  taste  called  one  of  his  worst  metaphors  ^Eschylean. 

"There  is  no  such  sweetness  of  versification  and 

Opinions  of         imagery  to  be  found  in  our  blank  verse  anterior  to 

_,    ,  .  Shakespeare,"  writes  Campbell.2     Ulrici  finds  that 

Peele's  '  * 

Imagery  David  and  Bethsabe  recalls  Romeo  and  Juliet.      "It 

is  more  especially  the  love  scenes  and  the  images 
and  similes  describing  the  charms  of  the  beauty  of  nature,  that 
remind  one  of  those  incomparable  pictures  in  Romeo  and  Juliet."* 
Hallam,  who  is  hostile  to  Peele,  says  :  "  Peele  has  some  command 
of  imagery,  but  in  every  other  quality  it  seems  to  me  that  he 
has  scarce  any  claim  to  honor."4  Peele  was  in  fact  a  poet 
rather  than  a  dramatist,  and  it  is  by  his  poetical  gifts  alone  that 
he  attains  his  slender  measure  of  success.  His  imagery  is  seldom 
condensed  and  emphatic,  and  is  seen  at  its  best  in  his   two   most 

poetical    pieces,    the    Arraignment   of    Paris    and 

,  .    .  David  and  Bethsabe.       When   he  attempts   to  be 

his  Imagery  L 

dramatic,  as  in  the  Battle  of  Aleazar  and  Edward 
the  First,  he  becomes  strained  and  turgid.  He  is  fond  of  simile, 
and  his  imagery  runs  to  extended  passages  rather  than  to  short 
and  burning  figures.  In  his  five  plays  occur  over  one  hundred 
formal  similes,  including  some  seven  of  the  prolonged  or  so- 
called  Homeric  type.5     This  tendency  is  especially  characteristic 

xAs  quoted  in  Collier's  Hist,  of  Eng.  Dram.  Poetry,  III  27.    The  metaphor 

is  contained  in  the  following  lines  : 

"At  him  the  thunder  shall  discharge  his  bolt; 
And  his  fair  spouse  [i.  e.  the  lightning],  with  bright  and  fiery  wings, 
Sit  ever  burning  on  his  hateful  bones." 

For  somewhat  similar  metaphors  in  Peele  see  II  65,  66,  79,  etc. 

"Specimens  of  British  Poets,  page  lviii. 

3Shakspere's  Dramatic  Art,  Vol.  I,  p.  137. 

♦Lit.  of  Eur.  Pt.  II.  ch.  VI,  §31  ;  see  also  Ward,  Hist.  Eng.  Dr.  lit.  I.  213. 

5  Examples  of  prolonged  metaphorical  passages;  I  10-11,  205,  II  15,  60, 
and  the  parables  pp.  33  and  45.  Prolonged  similes:  I  10,  96,  203-4,  II  12,  29, 
42,  80. 

23 


24  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

of  David  and Bethsabe,  where,  resulting  from  the  attempt  to  embody 
in  Elizabethan  dramatic  form  the  spirit  of  the  biblical  imagery,1 
his  language  becomes  almost  a  continued  series  of  figures,  among 
which  hyperbole2  and  personification3  especially  abound.  His 
imagery  is  generally  extrinsic  and  ornamental.  Where  he  attempts 
force  and  emphasis  his  language  degenerates  into  rant  and  extrav- 
agance in  the  vein  of  Tamburlaine ;  e.  g.  I  112  (Lluellen's  speech 
on  hearing  of  Elinor's  capture),  237,  238,  250,  253,  262  ("a  lake 
of  blood  and  gore"),  280,  288,  II  21  (the  metaphor  which  Hawkins 
so  much  admired),  40,  60,  63,  66,  82,  83;  see  especially  II   49  : 

Ahimaas.    "  O  would  our  eyes  were  conduits  to  our  hearts, 
And  that  our  hearts  were  seas  of  liquid  blood, 
To  pour  in  streams  upon  this  holy  mount, 
For  witness  we  would  die  for  David's  woes. 

Jonathan.     Then  should  this  Mount  of  Olives  seem  a  plain, 

Drowned  with  a  sea,  that  with  our  sighs  should  roar  "  .  . 

On  the  other  hand,  where  he  writes  in  his  own  poetical  vein, 
he  is  often  highly  successful.  See  for  example  the  famous  flower 
passage  in  the  Arraignment  of  Paris,4,  or  Edward  I,  sc.  V,  11. 
109-1 14  : 

"What  Nell,  sweet  Nell,  do  I  behold  thy  face? 
Fall  heaven,  fleet  stars,  shine  Phoebus'  lamps  no  more  ! 
This  is  the  planet  lends  this  world  her  light ; 
Star  of  my  fortune  this,  loadstar  of  my  delight, 
Fair  mould  of  beauty,  miracle  of  fame." 

and  David  and  Bethsabe  passim,  e.  g.  sc.  xv,  11.  89-90  : 

"But  things  to  come  exceed  our  human  reach, 
And  are  not  painted  yet  in  angels'  eyes," — 

and  the  speech  following. 

While  not  strikingly  original,  Peek's  imagery  is  not,  on  the 
other  hand,  wooden  and  artificial.  His  range  is  not  great.  Stars, 
sky,  sun,  and  flowers  play  the  largest  part,  but  are  generally  used 
effectively  and  gracefully.      "Painted,"  "mirror,"  "mounting,"' 

1  Most  of  his  borrowings  from  biblical  sources  are  noticed  in  Bullen's  notes. 
2E.  g.  II   19,  21,  49,  54.  60,  63,  65,  66,  76,  etc. 

3E.  g.   II  7,  8,  11,  13,  17    ("To  suffer  pale  and  grisly  abstinence,  To  sit 
and  feed  upon  his  fainting  cheeks")    19,  20,  21,  23,  31,  48,  62,  76,  82,  85. 
*Peele,  Works,  I  pp.  10-11. 


GEORGE  PEELE.  25 

and  similar  poetical  catchwords  of  the  day  occur  frequently. 
There  are  a  few  touches  of  Euphuistic  natural  history.  And  in 
general  Peele  does  not  go  far  out  of  the  conventional  range  for  his 
images;  there  are  very  few  domestic  images  and  few  drawn  from 
the  arts,  from  religion,  and  the  like.  Two  imitations  of  Spenser1 
and  one  of  Du  Bartas2  occur,  while  his  allusions  point  to  Homer 
and  the  classical  tradition.  His  comic  and  familiar  passages 
Peele  usually  casts  into  prose,  and  in  them  uses  little  figure  and 
that  almost  entirely  colloquial  and  proverbial  in  nature.3  The 
general  impression  from  the  Arraignment  of  Paris,  The  Old 
Wife's  Tale,  and  David  and  Bethsabc  is  that  of  sweetness  and 
grace.  The  Arraignment  of  Paris  is  practically  bare  of  metaphor 
and  simile  save  in  two  or  three  passages.  In  Flora's  speeches  in 
Act  I,  scene  i.  the  imagery  (referring  mostly  to  flowers)  rises  and 
throngs  to  the  expression  of  lyrical  beauty.  It  is  elaborate  and 
conscious  poetry  but  not  dramatic.  All  the  strong  images  in  this 
piece  appeal  to  the  sense  of  sight.  The  Old  Wife's  Tale  contains 
almost  no  striking  imagery.  What  there  is  is  colloquial  and  in 
keeping.  David  and  Bethsabc  is  Peele's  masterpiece.  As  else- 
where, his  genius  here  is  chiefly  lyrical :  the  speeches  roll  out  the 
beauty  of  their  poetry  deliberately,  not  dramatically,  and  the 
imagery  is  graceful,  but  not  compact  with  dramatic  import.  His 
versification  is  accordingly  fluent  and  smooth.  "  Exasperatingly 
insipid,"  Mr.  Bullen  calls  the  piece,  and  it  is  certainly  figurative 
or  rather  tropical  beyond  measure.  Metaphors,  similes,  and  per- 
sonification especially  abound. 

Edward  I  and  The  Battle  of  Alcazar  are  generally  strained  and 
stilted.  Peele  was  trying  his  hand  at  the  extravagant  and  blood- 
thirsty rant  of  the  school  of  Greene,  Marlowe  and  Kyd.  There 
is  the  usual  amount  of  misplaced  classical  ornament.4  These 
two  plays  are  not  important  or  highly  significant. 

1  Cf.  II  42,  244 ;  note  in  I  34-36  the  parody  of  the  Shepherd's  Calendar. 
2Cf.  II  29. 

3  See  infra,  p.  29. 

4  Classical  allusion  is  frequent  in  Peele  —  naturally  so  in  the  Arraignment 
of  Paris.  The  Fates  (I  6,  71  etc.),  the  Furies  (I  229,  234,  242,  280,  284,  321, 
342)  and  Nemesis  (I  229,  241,  242,  280)  are  particularly  prominent,  especially 
in  the  midst  of  the  hyperbolical  rant  of  the  Battle  of  Alcazar.     In  David  and 


26  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

RANGE  AND  SOURCES  OF  HIS  IMAGERY. 

Nature,  and  especially  inanimate  nature,  affords  by  far  the 
larger  proportion  of  Peele's  metaphors  and  similes.  This  fact 
alone  is  proof  of  the  non-dramatic  character  of  his  mind.  The 
dramatist,  alive  to  all  aspects  of  human  life,  naturally  draws  most 
of  his  comparisons  from  human  life.  Flowers  and  stars,  sun  and 
sunshine,  appear  more  than  any  other  images  in  Peele,  and  his 
touch  is  often  that  of  a  poet. 

NATURE  Aspects  of  the  Sky,  The  Elements,  etc.:  I  128 
(the  crystal  gates  of  heaven);  cf.  I  188,  II  9  ("comelier  than  the 
silver  clouds  that  dance  On  Zephyr's  wings"). 

Sun  and  Clouds:    I  87,  162,  291,  293  (sunshine),  112  (cf.  II 

4i): 

"Sun,  could'st  thou  shine,  and  see  my  love  beset, 
And  didst  not  clothe  thy  clouds  in  fiery  coats, 
O'er  all  the  heavens,  with  winged  sulphur  flames?" 

Peele  is  fond  of  the  pathetic  fallacy  (e.  g.  I  124,  II  19,  50,  54, 
76,  etc.) ;  II  12  (metaphor  of  the  sun  :  "heaven's  bright  eye")  ;x 
II  42  (like  the  sun  dancing  forth  from  the  East — after  Spenser), 
43  (like  the  sunset),  67,  79. 

Stars:  I  96,  cf.  117  ("The  welkin,  spangled  through  with 
golden  spots,  Reflects  no  finer  in  a  frosty  night"  .  .  .).  121, 
125  ("Edward,  star  of  England's  globe"),  127,  166,  143: 

"Why  should  so  fair  a  star  [Elinor]  stand  in  a  vale, 
And  not  be  seen  to  sparkle  in  the  sky  ?" 

II   22  ("Making  thy  forehead,  like  a  comet,  shine") 

42  ("Shining  in  riches  like  the  firmament, 

The  starry  vault  that  overhangs  the  earth.") 

50  ("That  piteous  stars  may  see  our  miseries, 

And  drop  their  golden  tears  upon  the  ground.") 

Bethsabe  there  are  (properly)  very  few.  The  chief  elsewhere  in  Peele  are  ; 
Various  Gods:  I  87,  97,  101,  112,  260,  270,  291,  305,  314,  334;  96  Ops,  Ixion, 
etc.  in  /Egeus,  116  Paris,  117  Narcissus,  123  Perseus  and  the  Gorgon;  Phleg- 
ethon,  Avernus,  etc.,  I  140,  209,  235,  230  the  Myrmidons,  246  Pompey,  162 
the  Graces  ;  etc.  Cf.  I  252  Occasion  and  her  foretop. 
1  Cf.   Comedy  of  Errors,  Hi  16. 


GEORGE  r El: I.E.  27 

Cf.  54,  67  (hvperbole),  S6  ;  Comets  I  10: 

••  Xor  doth  the  milk-white  way.  in  frosty  night, 
Appear  so  fair  and  beautiful  in  sight, 
As  doen  these  fields,  and  groves,  and  sweetest  bowers." 

Fire  :  I  44  ("  Round  drops  of  fiery  Phlegethon  to  scorch  false 
hearts"),  61  ("in  his  bosom  carries  fire";  cf.  r 51)  ;  227  (Honor 
inflames  the  Portingal ;  cf.  272) ;  II  22  ("let  hate's  fire  be  kindled 
in  thy  heart"),  49  ("the  wrath  of  heaven  inflames  Thy  scorched 
bosom  with  ambition's  heat"),  67  ("all  breasts  that  burn  with  any 
griefs"). 

Light,  Shining,  etc.:  I  86,  91,  117,  II  26  ("his  fame  may 
shine  in  Israel"),  II  3S,  75,  S4. 

Storms  :     II  41  ("wrathful  storms  of  war  Have  thundered"). 

Dew:     II  5S  ("So  shall  we  come  upon  him  in  our  strength, 
Like  to  the  dew  that  falls  in  showers  from  heaven"). 

Seasons  :    I  336  ("  Die  in  the  spring,  the  April  of  thy  age!")1 

Aspects  of  the  Sea:  I  111  ("the  wallowing  main");  cf.  259, 
203-4  11.  20-30  (simile  of  the  shepherd  who  blames  the  ship- 
wrecked seaman  for  inaction).  Coral  I  117  ("coral  lips");  so 
335;     Springs  I  210,  212,  II  49. 

Aspects  of  the  Earth:  II  58  ("in  number  like  sea-sands,  That 
nestle  close  in  one  another's  neck") ;  Glass  I  97  ;  Golden  I  290. 

Flowers:  I  10-1 1  (Flora's  speech),  21  ("as  fresh  as  bin  the  flow- 
ers in  May"),  31  ("The  fairest  face,  the  flower  of  gallant  Greece")* 
131,  132,  155,  163  ("And  yet  is  earthly  honor  but  a  flower"),  145  : 

••  As  when  of  Leicester's  hall  and  bower, 
Thou  wert  the  rose  and  sweetest  flower. " 

203  ("pale,  like  mallow  flowers")  ;  cf.  204  lines  32-33;  344,  II  9 
(cf.  10  11.  67-70),  23  ("Gladsome  summer  in  her  shady  robes, 
Crowned  with  roses  and  with  painted  flowers");  47,84;  I  253 
(thorny  teeth). 

Weed:  I  189  ("To  spoil  the  weed  [i.  e.  Lluellen]  that  chokes 
fair  Cambria");   cf.  198; 

Fruit  :  I  252,  II  19,  68,  77  ; 

Trees:  I  90  ("how,  like  sturdy  oaks,  Do  these  thy  soldiers 
circle    thee    about,    To  shield    and    shelter    thee    from    winter's 

'Cf.  II  47. 


28  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

storms!"),  II  9  ("Brighter  than  inside  bark  of  new-hewn  cedar"), 

II  19  (cedars). 

The  Animal  World  enters  rather  conventionally  into  Peele's 

imagery.     The    traditional  "lion-like"   is    common;   I    181  ("to 

rouse  him  lion-like"),  so  188,  287,  239  : 

"O  fly  the  sword  and  fury  of  the  foe, 
That  rageth  as  the  ramping  lioness 
In  rescue  of  her  younglings  from  the  bear!" 

II  32,  57  ("David  .   .  .  whose  angry  heart,  Is  as  a  lion's  letted  of 

his  walk");  Bear  II   57  ("Chafing  as  she- bears  robbed  of   their 

whelps"). 

Among  Domestic  Animals  appear  Dogs,  I  125,  126,  139,  251  : 

"Make  the  sword  and  target  here  my  hound 
To  pull  down  lions  and  untamed  beasts." 

290,  II  15;    Cattle  I  183: 

"Princes  of  Scotland  and  my  loving  friends, 
Whose  necks  are  over  wearied  with  the  yoke 
And  servile  bondage  of  these  Englishmen, 
Lift  up  your  horns,  and  with  your  brazen  hoofs, 
Spurn  at  the  honor  of  your  enemies." 

194:   "And  heifer-like,  sith  thou  hast  past  thy  bounds, 
Thy  sturdy  neck  must  stoop  to  bear  this  yoke." 

Sheep  I  89  (fled  "like  sheep  before  the  wolves"),  228,  II  33. 

Horses  II  29  ("Laying  his  bridle  in  the  neck  of  sin,  Ready 
to  bear  him  past  his  grave  to  hell  !"),  30  ("giving  lust  her  rein") 
65  (bridle),  78,  I  227  (Spur). 

Birds:  I  149,  152,  154;  II  29-30  11.  4-14  (simile  from  Du 
Bartas  ;  man  flies  to  sin  as  the  raven  to  its  carrion).1  The  image 
of  wings  is  a  favorite  with  Peele  also  :  I  195  ("If  his  wings  grow 
flig,  they  may  be  dipt"),  205  : 

"  My  soul   .   .   . 
Faint  [fain?]  for  to  mount  the  heavens  with  wings  of  grace, 
Is  hindered  by  flocking  troops  of  sin." 

II  5,  6,  20,  21  (the   winged    lightning),  66  ("Then  set  thy  angry 
soul  upon  her  wings"). 

JCf.  Chapman,  537a. 


GEORGE  PEELE.  29 

Serpents  II  11  :  "a  hundred  streams  .  .  . 
Shall,  as  the  serpents  fold  into  their  nests, 
In  oblique  turnings,  wind  their  nimble  waves, 
About  the  circles  of  her  curious  walks." 

Fabulous    Natural    History    appears    in    four    or    five    places : 

I  35-6  :  ("like  to  the  stricken  deer,  Seeks  he  dictamnum  for  his 
wound  within  our  forest  here");    253-4: 

"I  will  provide  thee  of  a  princely  osprey, 
That  as  she  flieth  over  fish  in  pools, 
The  fish  shall  turn  their  glistering  bellies  up, 
And  thou  shalt  take  thy  liberal  choice  of  all." 

177  ("His  sight  to  me  is  like  the  sight  of  a  cockatrice"),  cf.  II  48 
("Piercing  with  venom  of  thy  poisoned  eyes"),  II  80  11.  1 19-130 
(as  the  eagle  mounts  and  stares  at  the  sun). 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE.  The  Arts:  I  194  ("  Your  goodly 
glosses");  II  61  ("The  sins  of  David,  prin  ted  in  his  brows");  II 
23  (painted  flowers);  Music  II  44;  Building  II  78  ("for  what 
time  shall  this  round  building  [the  earth]  stand");  Prison  I 
202  ("in  this  painful  prison  of  my  soul"),  290  ("my  soul,  That 
breaks  from  out  the  prison  of  my  breast").  Medicine  I  186 
(to  purge),  II  12;  Agriculture  I  182  : 

"  Why  now  is  England's  harvest  ripe  : 
Barons,  now  may  you  reap  the  rich  renown 
That  .  .  .  grows  where  ensigns  wave  upon  the  plains." 

II  14  (reaping  reward),  86  ;  Wire  II  38  ("Thou  fair  young  man, 
whose  hairs  shine  in  mine  eve,  Like  golden  wires  of  David's  ivory 
lute").  So  46,  cf.  363  ("The  Praise  of  Chastity"  1.  73)  ;'  Hooks 
and  Bait  I  273,  II  23. 

Colloquial.  Coarse,  and  Familiar  Images  occur  in  Peele 
mostly  in  relief  scenes  or  scenes  from  low  life  :  I  107  (drawing  a 
pot),  109  (  "as  plainly  seen  as  a  three  half-pence  through  a  dish  of 
butter  in  a  sunnv  day"),  140  (outlawed  men  like  discarded  cards), 

'See  the  same  simile  in  Spenser,  Epithalamion  1.  154  (cf.  Todd's  note),  F.  Q. 

III  viii  7,  IV  vi  20,  II  iv  15,  Ruins  of  Time  1.  10,  Hymn  in  Jfonor  of  Beauty  1. 
97;  in  Gascoigne  "Dan  Bartholemew  of  Bath  "  stanza  9  (Chalmers  Poets,  1 1  50 1  1, 
and  in  many  other.-.  It  appears  frequently  in  M.  E,  poetry;  see  Shakspere's 
Sonnet  CXXX  satirizing  the  comparison. 


30  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

16S  ("'cutting  off"  the  law,  as  a  hangman  cuts  down  his  victim), 
173  ("the  dice,  not  being  bound  prentice  to  him"),  191  ("it  shall 
cost  me  hot  water"),  307  (a  proverb),  312  ("my  first  wife,  whose 
tongue  .  .  .  sounded  in  my  ears  like  the  clapper  of  a  great  bell"), 
313  (a  series  of  homely  similes),  325,  332,  334  ("He  .  .  .  speaks 
like  a  drum  perished  at  the  west  end"),  I  125  ("Take  that  earnest 
penny  of  thy  death"  [stabs  htm]),  129,  134,  II  30  ("If  holy  David 
so  shook  bands  with  sin").1 

The  Body  and  its  Parts.  Entrails  and  bowels  I  57,  250 
("Earthquakes  in  the  entrails  of  the  earth"),  II  9,  53,  66,  73  ;  cf. 
82;  Veins  II  50,  55,  66;  God's  finger  I  293,  II  24,  55;  I  125 
(paws):   I  124  (the  thirsty  sword). 

Of  domestic  images  there  are  practically  none  in  Peele. 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.  Hell  and  heaven  I  131  ("Let 
me  saint  or  divel  be,  In  that  sweet  heaven  or  hell  that  is  in 
thee");  262  ("And  now  doth  Spain  promise  with  holy  face")  ;  cf. 
prologue  to  David  and  Bethsabe  passim;  II  61  ("Even  as  thy 
sin  hath  still  importuned  heaven  ") ;   86  : 

"Thy  soul  shall  joy  the  sacred  cabinet 
Of  those  divine  ideas  that  present 
Thy  changed  spirit  with  a  heaven  of  bliss;" 

II  46  (angel). 

"War.  I  1 82  ("thy  treason's  fear  shall  make  the  breach"),  332 
("a  woman  without  a  tongue  is  as  a  soldier  without  his  weapon"), 
II  51  ("armed  with  a  humble  heart"),  I  11 1  (to  dart),  II  54  {dart 
plagues  at),  cf.  85. 

A  Few  Miscellaneous  Metaphors  are  frequent  and  characteristic 
tags  of  Peele's  style,  especially  the  image  of  piercing :  I  5  ("smoke 
piercing  the  skies?"),  42,  234  ("These  rites  .  .  .  Have  pierced  by 
this  to  Pluto's  cave"),  279,  342,  II  7  ("Let  not  my  beauty's  fire 
.  .  .  pierce  any  bright  eye").  So  8,  9,  12  (2x),  17,  48,  64,  83  (2x): 
Climbing,  Mounting,  etc.  I  93  ("thy  mounting  mind"),  114,  153, 
cf.  205,  227,  290,  II  So  ;  Mirror  I  19  ("  Mirror  of  virginity"),  344  : 

"Whose  beautv  so  reflecteth  in  my  sight 
As  doth  a  crystal  mirror  in  the  sun." 

1  See — with  the  contrary  application  of  the  idea — Webster  77a  :  "  You  have 
shook  hands  with  Reputation";  cf.  Ford  I  315)- 


GEORGE  PEELE.  3] 

II  63;    Mould.  Pattern    I    127  ("Fair  mould  of  beauty"),  177 

(Pattern);  Tangle  I  282  ("tied  and  tangled  in  a  dangerous  war"), 

II  11  : 

"Now  comes  my  lover,  tripping  like  the  roe, 
And  brings  my  longings  tangled  in  her  hair." 

Cf.  56,  362  (Praise  of  Chastity  1.  51);  I  17  (painted  paths), 
II  23  (painted  flowers),  8  ("plain  enamelled  with  discolored 
flowers"):  Rip  I  24  (unrip  not  so  your  shames"),  II  73;  I  46 
("Hard  heart,  fair  face,  fraught  with  disdain  ")  ;   Poison  II  60,  83. 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE 

i 564-1 593 


Acted  Published  Vol.             Pages 

1 587  1590  Tamburlaine  the  Great.  Part    I  -  I       7-^05 

I59°  Tamburlaine  the  Great.  Part  II  -     I  109-206 

1588?  1604  The  Tragical  History  of Doctor  Faustits  I  211-283 

1589?  1594  The  Jew  of  Malta    -  -          -  -   II       5-113 

1590  J594  Edward  the  Second        -          -          -  II119-234 

1593?  c.  1595  The  Massacre  at  Paris  -          -  -   II  239-298 


33 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE. 

In  the  history  of  English  dramatic  poetry  Marlowe  is  the  first 

figure  of  supreme  importance.     He  first  established  blank  verse 

on    the   public  stage   as   the   principal    medium    of 

^Uf  !  y,        .       dramatic     expression,    and    it    was    he    who    "first 
and  Value  of  r  , 

his  Imagery  inspired  with  true  poetic  passion  the  form  of  litera- 
ture to  which  his  chief  efforts  were  consecrated."1 
The  "mighty  line"  of  Marlowe  has  been  felt  and  applauded  by 
all  critics  from  Ben  Jonson  down.  Connected  with  his  innova- 
tion in  style,  as  evidenced  by  the  new  music  of  his  verse  and  the 
new  passion  of  his  thought,  the  range  and  character  of  Marlowe's 
imagery  is  also  highly  significant  and  worthy  of  study.  The 
inspiration  and  Titanic  energy  of  an  emancipated  genius,  equali- 
ties so  apparent  in  all  his  work  that  they  have  led  most  modern 
critics  to  rank  Marlowe  as  a  dramatic  poet  next  after  Shakspere 
in  the  Elizabethan  circle,  are  apparent  also  in  the  pictures  which 
his  imagination  bodies  forth,  in  the  various  forms  of  figurative 
language  which  are  woven  into  the  texture  of  his  style.  The 
chief  faults  as  well  as  the  chief  merits  of  this  style  are  displayed 
in  his  use  of  figures.  "His  poetry  [is]  strong  and  weak  alike 
with  passionate  feeling,  and  expressed  with  a  turbulent  magnifi- 
cence of  words  and  images."2  Violence,  hyperbole,  bombast, 
the  "display  of  overloaded  splendors  and  colors,"3  these  are  the 
characteristic  marks  of  the  two  parts  of  Tamburlaine.  In  his 
later  work  the  bombast  and  hyperbole  are  less  apparent,  and  the 
color  and  splendor  of  the  poet's  diction  are  kept  more  nearly 
within  the  bounds  of  poetic  and  dramatic  decorum. 

The  condensed  metaphor,  the  brief  and  pregnant  expression 
of  a  striking  and   oftentimes  complex  metaphorical  idea  in  one 

■  Ward,  Engl.  Dram.  Lit.,  I  203. 
'Brooke,  Primer  of  Kng.   Lit.,  §  80. 
3Taine,  Eng.  Lit.,  Bk.  II,  ch.  ii. 

35 


36  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

short  word  or  phrase,  first1  prominently  appears  in  Marlowe.      It 

accords  well  at  times  with  his  passionate  utterance,  although  it  is 

a  form    characteristic   of   the  highly  elliptical  and 

on  ense  purely   dramatic   diction   of  a  poet  like  Shakspere 

Metaphors  r         J  ^   ^     ■     ^ 

in  Marlowe         rather  than  of  the  more  swelling  and  lyrical  utter- 
ance of  Marlowe.     Examples  of  this  figure  in  Mar- 
lowe are  as  follows  :     I   50  "  Cannons  mouthed  like  Orcus'  gulf." 
156     "Death,  why  com'st  thou  not? 

Well,  this  must  be  the  messenger  for  thee." 

{Drawing  a  dagger.) 

II  15  "Thus  trowls*  our  fortune  in  by  land  and  sea." 

272  "Her  eyes  and  looks  sow^d  seeds  of  perjury." 

314  "Our  unweaporid  thoughts." 

While  his  use  of  metaphor  and  simile  is  not  highly  literary 

and   conventional   like   much  of  the  work  of  Peele  and  Greene, 

still    Marlowe  writes    rather   as   a   poet  than   as   a 

His  Imagery       dramatist.3     In  Tamburlaine,  at  least,  the  imagery 

is  abundant  and  does  not  seem  to  be  very  much 
rather  than  — — 

Dramatic  discriminated  among  the  various  characters,  except 

that  most  of  the  glorious  hyperbole  is  put  into  the 
mouth  of  Tamburlaine  himself.  It  is  poetical  imagery,  seldom 
existing  merely  to  make  clearer  or  to  strengthen  the  thought,  but 
rather  for  the  sake  of  hyperbolical  magnificence,  or  to  convey 
and  enforce  the  passion  or  the  pomp  of  an  idea.  Thus  in  the 
famous  description  of  Tamburlaine,4 

"Of  stature  tall  and  straightly  fashioned, 
Like  his  desire  lift  upward  and  divine,"  etc., 

all    is    barbaric    hyperbole    and    ornament.       Occasionally    the 

metaphor  in  its  excess  of  turbulent  daring  becomes  mixed,  or  as 

Hazlitt  phrased  it,5  "There   is  a  little  fustian  and 

Mlxed  incongruity  of  metaphor  now  and  then,  which  is 

Metaphors  &      .    .     .  ,  ,.     _  „      ^  , 

not  very  injurious  to  the  subject.        ior  example: 

1  Kyd,  writing  contemporaneously,  has  some  striking  examples  of  the  same 
sort. 

2  A  metaphor  from  drinking.     Cf.  Nares. 

3  On  the  lyrical  element  in  Marlowe's  drama  see  J.  A.  Symonds,  In  the  Key 
of  Blue  and  Other  Prose  Essays,  pp.  244-246. 

■tPart  I,  Act  II  sc.  i  (I  28). 
5  Age  of  Eliz.,  Lecture  II. 


C  V/A'/.v  7\  )PHER  MA  A' /.Oil  7  .  3  7 

I  11  (Theridamas  is  "the  very  legs  Whereon  our  State  doth  lean 
as  on  a  staff").1 

1  132  :  "And  jealous  anger  of  His  fearful  arm 

Be  poured  with  rigor  on  our  sinful  heads." 
II  244  ("My  quenchless  thirst,  whereon  I  build"), 

2S0  ("Navarre,  that  cloaks  them  underneath  his  wings"). 
Cf.  II  353  ("Yet  Dido  casts  her  eyes,  like  anchors  out"), 

368  ("When  Dido's  beauty  chained  thine  eyes  to  her"). 
But  these  last  may  be  Nash's  conceits. 

Tamb uridine  of  course  is  the  locus  classicus  for  magnificent 
Hyperbole  hyperbole  and  glorious  extravagance.2     A  charac- 

teristic passage  may  be  quoted  : 

"I  will,  with  engines  never  exercised, 
Conquer,  sack,  and  utterly  consume 
Your  cities  and  your  golden  palaces; 
And,  with  the  flames  that  beat  against  the  clouds 
Incense  the  heavens,  and  make  the  stars  to  melt.  .   .  . 
....  And,  till  by  vision  or  by  speech  I  hear 
Immortal  Jove  say  'Cease,  my  Tamburlaine,' 
I  will  persist,  a  terror  to  the  world, 
.Making  the  meteors,  that,  like  armed  men, 
Are  seen  to  march  upon  the  towers  of  heaven, 
Run  tilting  round  about  the  firmament, 
And  break  their  burning  lances  in  the  air, 
For  honor  of  my  wondrous  victories."3 

Marlowe  like  Greene  is  fond  of  costly  passages  and  gorgeous 

_     ..    _.  description:   I  14: 

Costly  Phrases  *  ^ 

"march  in  coats  of  gold, 
With  costly  jewels  hanging  at  their  ears, 
And  shining  stones  upon  their  lofty  crests." 

So  20,  119,  219,  II  12,  334,  361,  363,  etc.     Marlowe  has  also, 
like  Spenser  and  Milton,  many  passages  of  ethnic  pomp  and  geo- 
graphic romance.     He  loves  to  feed  the  hunger  of 
Geographic  ...  .  .  ,       ,     , 

Romance  imagination  with  whole  continents.     The  sound- 

ing reports  of  great  conquests  are  a  large  part  of 

1  Cf.  II  292  "Sweet  Duke  of  Guise,  our  prop  to  lean  upon." 

'The  most  striking  examples  are  I  18,  23,  35,  36,  50,60,  7of,  102,  121.  123, 
124,  137,  140-141,  147,  173-4.  1/9.  189,  198.  Elsewhere  in  Marlowe  see  II 
273,  291,  325-6,  348,  351,  353.  357,  358,  369,  373- 

3 1  173- 


3 8  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

the  poetical  motive  of    Tamburlaine.     "Give  me  a  map,"   cries 
Tamburlaine,1  "  then  let  me  see  how  much 

Is  left  for  me  to  conquer  all  the  world." 
(One  brings  a  map) — And  then  follows  one  of  those  enumer- 
ations of  mighty  empires  and  far-off  regions  so  dear  to  the 
adventurous  imagination  of  the  Elizabethan  Englishman, — Persia, 
Armenia,  Bithynia,  Egypt,  Arabia,  the  Suez  Canal  by  anticipa- 
tion, Nubia,  "  the  Tropic  line  of  Capricorn,"  Zanzibar,  Graecia, 
and  much  else  !  Note  also  Faustus'  hungry  heart  for  roaming, 
and  the  satisfaction  with  which  he  recounts  his  travels.2 

Marlowe  in  spite  of  his  strenuous  seriousness  is  not  above 
an   occasional  play  on  words,  e.  g.  I    51    ("Which  dyes   my  locks 

Quibbling  so  &/«&«.").  "4 

"India,  where  raging  Lantchidol 
Beats  on  the  regions  with  his  boisterous  blows." 

I  196  ("  pitch  their  pitchy  tents"),  203  ("  Must  part,  imparting 
his  impressions"),  II  43  (foiled),  175  ("The  barons  overbear 
me  "),  294  (arms). 

In  the  later  plays  the   proportion   of  tropes   is  much  smaller 

than  in  the  two  parts  of  Tamburlaine.3     At  the  same   time,  while 

much  less  profuse,  the  metaphors  and  similes  of  the 

The  earlier  and  ]ater  piavs  are  usually  more  restrained  and  effective. 

,.  ..       .  .    .      Considerable  bold  personification,  of  which  there  is 

distinguished  r 

little  in  the  other  plays,  is  furthermore  a  charac- 
teristic of  Tamburlaine :  e.  g.  I  29  (Honor,  Nature,  etc.),  46 
(Death),  cf.  156,  199,  61  (Victory),  95  (Fame,  Hunger),  96  (Dark- 
ness), 98  (Earth),  137  (The  Sun),  144  (Fortune),  170  (a  city);  cf. 
the  Seven  Deadly  Sins  in  Faustus;  cf.  264  (Time),  II  36  (Sleep), 
206  (Sorrow).  Simile  also  is  frequent  in  Tamburlaine ;  there 
are  some  75  short  similes  of  one  line  or  less  in  its  two  parts,4  and 
nearly  the  same  number  of  similes  two   lines  or  more  in   length, 

'II  Tamburlaine  V  iii  (Vol.  I  pp.  201-202;  cf.  II3-II4,  128,  188). 
2 Faustus  sc.  vii  (Vol.  I,  p.  250). 

3  I  note  some  400  metaphors  and  similes  in  Tamburlaine,  to  some  250  in 
the  other  four  plays  taken  together. 

4  He  is  fond  of  short  alternative  or  cumulative  similes :  e.  g.  I  20,  52-3,  60, 
115,  119,  183,  218-219,  238,  276  ;   II 41. 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE.  39 

including  eight  prolonged  or  quasi-Homeric  similes,  viz.:  I  54 
(Terror  inspired  by  Tamburlaine's  look  like  that  felt  by  the  sea- 
man in  the  tempest),  89-90  (Zenocrate  like  Flora,  etc.),  151  (a 
wound  like  a  jewel  or  ornament),  161  (Tamburlaine  like  Hector 
— "I  do  you  honor  in  the  simile"),  173  (torments  will  make  his 
enemies  roar  like  a  herd  of  bulls);1  1 74  (meteors  like  armed  men), 
179  (like  "the  horse  that  guide  the  golden  eye  of  Heaven"),  183 
(his  plume  like  an  almond  tree) 2  Historical  example  is  another 
form  of  comparison   characteristic  of    Tamburlaine:    e.  g.   I    114; 

"As  the  Romans  used, 
I  here  present  thee  with  a  naked  sword." 

34  (Xerxes'  host),  42,  61  (Caesar's  host),  cf.  II  126,  198,  245, 
287,  etc.  Finally,  classical  allusion' is  very  frequent  in  Tambur- 
laine. I  note  more  than  90  instances.  There  are  some  20 
instances  in  Edward  II;  very  little  in  the  other  plavs.3  The 
literary  and  quasi-epical  cast  of  Tamburlaine  is  revealed  in  its 
use  of  trope, —  the  abundant  hvperbole,  personification,  and 
simile  (all  figures  of  a  highly  conscious  sort),  the  numerous  and 
forcible  metaphors,  the  borrowings  from  Spenser  and  others,4  and 
the  classical  embroidery.  But  the  profusion  of  Tamburlaine  in 
these  figures  is  no  more  noticeable  than  is  the  comparative 
restraint  of  the  later  plavs,  where  significant  metaphor  is  chieflv 
used  in  crises  and  situations  of  emotional  excitement.5 

'Imitated  from  Spenser,  F.  Q.  I  viii  11. 
'  After  Spenser  F.  Q.  I  vii  32. 

3  References  to  the  classical  Inferno,  Hades,  Avernus,  Styx,  etc.,  are  com- 
mon:  I  23,  78,  93,  103,  126,  147  ,172,  178,  1S0,  252,  II  68,  203,  207  ;  Homer 
and  the  Trojan  war  are  frequently  mentioned  :  I  140,  241  ;  Helen  II,  140,  27of, 
275,11  169;  Achilles  I  29,  161,  II  148;  .Eneas  I  99,  100 ;  Penelope  I  23S  ; 
CEnone  I  241  ;  Jove's  Adventures  and  Amours  often  appear:  I  20,  24,  113.  11  a, 
175,  276,  II  140,  155,  186;  Various  Gods  I  25,  45,  46,  47,  53,  102,  104,  115.  117. 
^Si  J^3'  H  34.  I22;  Phcebus  and  Cynthia,  see  infra  under  "  Sun  "  and  "Moon;" 
Aurora  I  31  ;  Hercules  I  59,  179,  II  125,  148;  Atlas  I  28,  171,  II  178,  307; 
Phaeton  I  72,  205,  II  133  ;  The  Furies  I  78,  126,  147,  178,  II  207,291  ;  Nemesis 
I  35;  The  Fates  I  157;  Fortune  and  her  Wheel  I  23,  99,  II  214,  232,  (cf.  I 
144,  157);   Occasion  I  206,  II  102;   Leander  II  1 19;   and  many  others. 

4  E.  g.  Ariosto,  177;  see  elsewhere  various  quotations  or  references  in  Mar- 
lowe's text  to  classical  authors,  e.  g.  II  18  (Terence),  154  (Pliny),  201  (Sem 

to  Virgil  in  Dido  passim,  etc. 

5  See  examples  cited  below,  p.  174. 


4°  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Marlowe's  epithets  and  metaphors  are  often  hyperbolical  and 
violent,  but  seldom  conventional  or  faded,  barring  the  classical 
allusions,  and  even  these  are  oftentimes  so  phrased  as  to  gain  a 
new  freshness  and  beauty,  e.  g.  I  89-90  : 

"like  to  Flora  in  her  morning  pride, 
Shaking  her  silver  tresses  in  the  air, 
Rain'st  on  the  earth  resolved  pearl  in  showers, 
And  sprinklest  sapphires  on  thy  shining  face." 
Or  179  : 

"The  horse  that  guide  the  golden  eye  of  heaven, 
And  blow  the  morning  from  their  nosterils, 
Making  their  fiery  gait  above  the  clouds." 

RANGE  AND  SOURCES  OF   IMAGERY. 

NATURE.     Aspects  of  the  Sky,  The  Elements,  etc.:     Sun  I  35 

("Sun-bright  armor"),  so  97,  cf.  137  (the  Sun  personified),  171, 
183  ("In   golden  armor  like  the  sun  "),  II  64,  177  :  cf.  Phoebus 

I  18,  119,  137,  179,  183,  195,  205,  206,  II  38,  193.  Shadows  I 
104,  219,  II  206  : 

"  But  what  are  kings,  when  regiment  is  gone, 
But  perfect  shadows  in  a  sunshine  day  ?" 

Cf.  246  ;  Sunrise  I  179,  II  38  (cf.  307);  Moon  and  Stars  :  I  46 
("always  moving  as  the  restless  spheres"),  92  ("the  fiery-span- 
gled veil  of  Heaven"),  157,  54  ("the  furies  of  his  heart  That 
shine  as  comets"),  cf.  71,  146,  174,  1S9  ;   276  : 

"Oh,  thou  art  fairer  than  the  evening  air, 
Clad  in  the  beauty  of  a  thousand  stars." 

II  37  (Abigail  like  a  star);  cf.  Cynthia  I  71,  134,  136,  137,  157, 
175,  196,  II  43.     Clouds  I  145  : 

"Their  ensigns  spread 
Fook  like  the  parti-colored  clouds  of  heaven." 

179  ("My  chariot,  swifter  than  the  racking  clouds"),  195,  201: 

"Thus  are  the  villain  cowards  fled  for  fear 
Fike  summer  vapors  vanished  by  the  sun." 

(cf.  II  146),  281,  cf.  II  54,  271  ("Is  Guise's  glory  but  a  cloudy 
mist?");  Fire  I  44  (the  flame  of  ambition  ;  cf.  II  243),  68,  130, 
137,   145,  166  ("Wrath,  kindled   in  the  furnace  of  his  breast"). 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE.  41 

169,  II  120,  239;  Lamps  (of  heaven  ;  —  for  stars)  I  60,  70,  71,  121, 
137.  15S.  177,  196,  202.  Storms,  Rain,  etc.,  I  24  (to  rain  gold), 
63,  115  (shower  of  darts),  127,  133,  144,  II  196  (Rain  showers  of 
vengeance).  240  ("  Guise  may  storm  ").  241,  263,  268  ;  cf.  Boreas  I 
25,  37,  127  ;  Thunder  I  9  (thundering  speech),  35  ("bullets  like 
Jove's  ....  thunderbolts"),  67,  71,98, 132,  135  ("God  hath  thun- 
dered vengeance"),  166  (cannons  thunder),  II  158  ("I'll  thun- 
der such  a  peal  into  his  ears");  Snow  I  20  ("Fairer  than  whitest 
snow  on  Scythian  hills");  Seasons  I  45  ("the  morning  of  my 
happy  Mate");  Night  (personified)  I  96,  II  194. 
Aspects  of  Sea  and  Water:  Tide  I  175: 

"With  thy  view  my  joys  are  at  the  full, 
And  ebb  again  as  thou  departest  from  me." 

I  48  (in  number  as  the  drops  of  the  sea).  127,  54  (simile  of  seaman 

in  storm),  76  (simile  of  pilot  in  the  haven  who  views  the  storm). 
Aspects  of  Earth,  Minerals,  etc.:   Adamant  II  173;  Coal-black 

I  49,  126  ;  II  227  (a  heart  "  hewn  from  the  Caucasus"),  II  273  ("the 
haughty  mountains  of  my  breast");   Golden  I   137  (of  the  sun), 

II  122  ("hair  that  gilds  the  water  as  it  glides");  Silver  I  137 
("silver  waves");  Leaden  II  156  ("  Base,  leaden  earls");  Crystal 
I  121  (cf.  II  363)  157  (a  crystal  robe),  182  (crystal  waves);  Dia- 
mond II  42-43  (Abigail   like  a  diamond);  II  287  (pale  as  ashes). 

The  Vegetable  World:  Trees  I  68  (Spearmen  "As  bristle- 
pointed  as  a  thorny  wood"),  71  (like  cedars  struck  by  thunder- 
bolts), 1S3  (plumes  like  an  almond  tree  —  Spenser's  simile),  II 
154  (emblematic  allegory  of  the  cedar-tree  and  the  canker-worm); 
Branch  I  282  ("Cut  is  the  branch,"  etc),  II  1S1  ("This  Spencer, 
as  a  putrefying  branch,  That  deads  the  royal  vine");  Leaf  I  37 
(quivering  like  an  aspen-leaf),  159  (in  number  like  leaves),  II  273; 
Mushroom  II  144  ;  Flower  II  34  ("A  fair  voung  maid  ....  The 
sweetest  flower  in  Cytherea's  field");  Fruit  I  30  ("fall  like  mel- 
lowed fruit  with  shakes  of  death");  Seeds  II  272  ("Her  eves  and 
looks  sow'd  seeds  of  perjury");   I  180  (hedges). 

The  Animal  World:   Lion  I  18  : 

"As  princely  lions,  when  they  rouse  themselves, 
Stretching  their  paws,  and  threatening  herds  of  beasts. 
So  in  his  armor  looketh  Tamburlaine." 


42  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

181  (lion  like),  II  133,  162,  206,  218;  Tiger  II  210;  Wolf  II  207, 
212 ;   Fox  I   10: 

"Tamburlaine  ....  like  a  fox  in  midst  of  harvest  time, 
Doth  prey  upon  my  flocks  of  passengers, 
And,  as  I  hear,  doth  mean  to  pull  my  plumes." 

Deer  I  63  : 

"Let  his  foes,  like  flocks  of  fearful  roes, 
Pursued  by  hunters,  fly  his  angry  looks." 

II  248;  Porcupine  I  121,  II  121. 

Domestic  Animals:  Sheep  I  169  ("And  leads  your  bodies 
sheep-like  to  the  sword"),  II  41,  207;  Bulls  I  173  (Spenser's 
simile);   Horses  I  180: 

"To  bridle  their  contemptuous,  cursing  tongues, 
That,  like  unruly,  never-broken  jades, 
Break  through  the  hedges  of  their  hateful  mouths." 

II  66  (ambles);  Dogs  I  173  ("bark,  ye  dogs"),  II  4T  ("We  Jews 
can  fawn  like  spaniels  when  we  please,"  etc.),  192  (bark). 

Birds:  Wings  I  36  (winged  sword,  etc.),  115  (feathered 
steel),  166  (cf.  II  35),  II  206,  243,  280,  289  ("  I'll  clip  his  wings"); 
Doves  I  86  ("What,  are  the  turtles  frayed  out  of  their  nests?"); 
Cockerel  II  162  ("Shall  the  crowing  of  these  cockrels  affright  a 
lion?");  Lark  II  38  (Barabas  sings  over  his  gold  as  the  lark  over 
her  young);   Goose  II  121  : 

"These  words  of  his  move  me  as  much 
As  if  a  goose  would  play  the  porcupine, 
And  dart  her  plumes,  thinking  to  pierce  my  breast." 

Wren  II  218;  Raven  II  35  (That  "tolls  The  sick  man's  passport 
in  her  hollow  beak");  Partridge  II  85  (Barabas  hides  his  gold, 
"as  partridges  do  their  eggs,   under  the  earth  "). 

Fabulous  Natural  History:      Torpedo-fish   II    141  : 

"Fair  queen,  forbear  to  angle  for  the  fish, 
Which  being  caught,  strikes  him  that  takes  it  dead  ; 
I  mean  that  vile  torpedo,  Gaveston." 

Allegory  of  the  flying-fish  pursued  by  its  enemies  II  154  ;  Croco- 
dile I  67  (to  lie  in  sloth, 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE.  43 

"  As  crocodiles  that  unaffrighted  rest, 
While  thundering  cannons  rattle  on  their  skins"). 

Deer  1 1  205-6  (wounded,  seeks  a  herb  for  cure).' 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE:    Arts,  Literature,   etc.:      J   81  (the 

sword — Tamburlaine's  pen  with  which  he  draws  his  map),  90: 

....   "thv  shining  face, 
Where  beauty,  mother  to  the   Muses,  sits, 
And  comments  volumes  with  her  ivory  pen." 

Cf.  II  271  :  "Hath  my  love  been  so  obscured  in  thee, 

That  others  need  to  comment  on  my  text?" 

I   23  ("characters  graven  in  thy  brows"),  cf.  28,  29,  53;   II  228; 

I  144: 

"As  all  the  world  should  blot  his  dignities 
Out  of  the  book  of  base-born  infamies." 

Cf.  II  333  ("His  looks  shall  be  my  only  library"). 

Medical:  II  143  ("purging  of  the  realm  of  such  a  plague" 
—  i.  e.  Gaveston),  288  ("This  sweet  sight  is  physic  to  my  soul"). 

Music  :     II  188  "To  think  that  we  can  yet  be  tuned  together  ; 
No,  no,  we  jar  too  far." 

Paint:  I  118  ("to  paint  in  words"),  II  87  ("painted  car- 
pets," i.  e.  flowery  fields),  156  ("the  painted  spring"). 

Building  :  I  30  (life  a  palace),  45  ("The  wondrous  architec- 
ture of  the  world"),  64  (pillars),  II  218  ("  the  closet  of  my  heart"). 

Prison  (of  the  body)  I  175: 

"Making  a  passage  for  my  troubled  soul, 
'Which  beats  against  this  prison  to  get  out." 

Metal-Work  (I    21):    151    (enamelled),  70,  183  (enchased). 

II  145: 

"  My  heart  is  as  an  anvil  unto  sorrow, 
Which  beats  upon  it  like  the  Cyclops'  hammers." 

Dyeing:  I  51  ("Which  dyes  my  locks  so  lifeless"),  97  (walls 
dyed  with  blood),  150. 

Dress,  etc.:  Cloak  or  Mantle  I  50  ("The  ground  is  mantled 
with  such  multitudes"),  90  ("in  the  mantle  of  the  richest  night"), 
196  ("Muffle  your  beauties  with  eternal  clouds").  II  280 
(cloak);    Veil    I   92   ("the   fiery-spangled   veil  of   Heaven"),    124, 

'Cf.  I'eele,  I  356. 


44  METAPHOR  AXD  SIMILE. 

134  ("thou  shining  veil  of  Cynthia");  Clothe  I  121  ("clear 
the  cloudy  air,  And  clothe  it  in  a  crystal  livery"),  cf.  Shroud  I  170, 
(II  311.     Cf.  II  363). 

Various:  Divorced  II  169  (Gaveston  "divorced  from  King 
Edward's  eyes,"  cf.  II  340). 

Agriculture:  II  156  (like  the  shepherd);  Yoke  I  85,95,  H 
289;  Furrow  I  86  ("the  folded  furrows  of  his  brows"),  cf.  I  23, 
II  123,  245  (324,  352). 

Amusements  and  Hunting:      I  6$,  75,  77  : 

"As  frolic  as  the  hunters  in  the  chase 
Of  savage  beasts  amid  the  desert  woods." 

II  162  ("baited  by  these  peers"),  19S  (to  start  the  game),  24S 
(the  deer  in  the  toils). 

Dancing  I  29  (wind  making  hair  dance),  115  ("the  cannon 
shook  Vienna  wall,  And  made  it  dance"),  cf.  148  ("to  undermine 
a  town  And  make  whole  cities  caper  in  the  air"),  137  (Sun  dances 
on  the  waves),  183  (plume  dancing  in  the  air);  Games  II  191 
(prisoner's  base);  Cards  II  245. 

Of  Colloquial,  Coarse  and  Familiar  Images  there  are  very  few 
in  Marlowe:  I  57  ("That  damned  train,  the  scum  of  Africa"), 
so  75  ;  I  95  ("Smeared  with  blots  of  basest  drudgery"),  II  42 
("The  slave  looks  Like  a  hog's  cheek  new  singed"),  74  (bells 
that  sound  like  tinkers'  pans),  84  (the  hangman's  hempen 
tippet),  84  (mustaches  like  a  raven's  wing),  87  (give  money  as 
cow  gives  down  milk). 

The  Body  and  its  Parts:     Temples  I  137  (of  the  sun);  Eve1 

I  i77: 

.  .  .  "that  bright  eve  of  heaven 
From  whence  the  stars  do  borrow  all  their  light." 

So  179  ("The  horse  that  guide  the  golden  eye  of  Heaven"),  279; 

II  38  ("Now  Phcebus  ope  the  eyelids  of  the  day"),3  Brows,  etc.  I 
28  ("in  the  forehead  of  his  fortune  Bears  figures  of  renown"); 
Stomach  II  129  ("All  stomach  [dislike]  him"),  so  164:  Bowels, 
Entrails,  etc.,   I    72    (bowels   of    a   cloud),   so    133  and    281,    98 

1  Metaphors  for  eyes,  see  I  28,  95,  140,  II  209. 

2Cf.  Lycidas  1.  26  "Under  the  opening  eyelids  of  the  morn." 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE.  45 

(entrails  of  the  earth),  so  236,  II  15,  II  217  ("unbowel  straight 
this  breast '"),  245  ("  the  bowels  of  her  treasury"),  280  ("To  rip 
the  golden  bowels  of  America");  II  252  ("The  head  [Coligny] 
being  off,  the  members  [the  Huguenots]  cannot  stand");  Sinews 

I  *33<  M3- 

Various  Human  Attributes:  Kiss  II  136  ("enforce  The 
papal  towers  to  kiss  the  lowly  ground"),  so  296;  I  114  (to  swal- 
low, cf.  II  318);   Sleep  II  123  (sword  sleeps  in  scabbard). 

The  Senses  and  Appetites:  Thirst  I  29  (thirsting  for  sover- 
eignty), so  35,  44,  II  244;  Taste  II  248;  Surfeit  I  127  (to  sur- 
feit in  joy),  212  ("He  surfeits  upon  cursed  necromancy"),  216 
("glutted  with  conceit"),  277  ("A  surfeit  of  deadly  sin"),  II  285. 
294;   Feed  (II  337,  340). 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.:  Death  I  45  (personified), 
so  46,  53,  88,  102,  140,  156,  157,  196,  199,  II  245  ;  Sepulchre  II 
59  :    "These  arms  of  mine  shall  be  thy  sepulchre."1 

Hell  I  55  (cf.  135-6),  186  ("  More  strong  than  are  the  gates 
of  death  or  hell"),  II  137  ("this  hell  of  grief");  cf.  numerous 
references  to  classical  Hades,  Avernus,  Styx,  etc.;  Spirits  I  61, 
197  (devils  and  angels),  cf.  Faustus  passim,  II  260  ("That  bell, 
that  to  the  devil's  matins  rings");  Heaven  I  87,  127,  174  ("the 
towers  of  heaven "),  II  119: 

"The  sight  of  London  to  my  exiled  eyes 
Is  as  Elysium  to  a  new-come  soul."2 

II  233  (the  undiscovered  country).  Soul  I  276  ("Her  lips 
sucks  forth  my  soul  ;  see  where  it  flies!");  Preach  II  23  ("Preach 
me  not  out  of  my  possessions"),  124  ("  their  heads  preach  upon 
poles  "),  so  176;  Altar  and  Sacrifice  II  60  : 

1  Dyce  compares  III  Henry  VI,  II  v: 

"These  arms  of  mine  shall  be  thy  winding  sheet ; 
My  heart,  sweet  boy,  shall  be  thy  sepulchre." 

See  further,  infra,  references  on  this  head  under  Webster,  Chapman  and  Ford. 
Cf.  in  Marlowe  II  128,  245  ("in  my  love  entombs  the  hope  of  France"). 

2Cf.  Mrs.  Browning,  Aurora  Leigh,  Book  II  : 

" I  go  hence 
To  London,  to  the  gathering-place  of  souls." 

Cf.  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  II  vii  38. 


46  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

"Upon  which  altar  I  will  offer  up 
My  daily  sacrifice  of  sighs  and  tears."1 

Influence  of  the  Stars  I  29,  44,  57,  71,  86,  94,  II  202,  284. 

Images  of  War,  etc.:  II  273  (Vengeance  encamped,  shows 
her  gorv  colors),  I  45  ("  the  breach  thy  sword  hath  made"),  90 
(Sorrows  lay  siege  to  the  soul);  174  (meteors  tilting  like  armed 
men),2  cf.  I  18  ("windy  exhalations,  Fighting  for  passage,  tilt 
within  the  earth  "),  54  (Auster  and  Aquilon  tilt  about  the  heavens), 
cf.  II  312  (waves  tilt  twixt  the  oaken  sides  of  wrecked  vessels); 
Massacre,  kill,  etc.  I  94  ("That  lingering  pains  may  massacre  his 
heart"),  141  ("our  murdered  hearts")  170,  202  ("bleeding  hearts, 
Wounded  and  broken"),  II  201  (wounds),  247  ("my  soul  is 
massacred"),  264  ("  thou  kill'st  thy  mother's  heart");  Arms  II 
144  ("Tis  not  the  king  can  buckler  Gaveston  "),  so  169,  cf.  II 
314  ("unweaponed  thoughts");  Archery  I  37  : 

"Kings  are  clouts  that  every  man  shoots  at, 
Our  crown  the  pin  that  thousands  seek  to  cleave." 

And  see  Tamburlaine's  discourse  (I  148-9)  on  the  art  of  war  — 
from  the  sixteenth  century  standpoint. 

The  Stage  and  the  Drama:  Play  a  part  I  22  ("Our  swords 
shall  play  the  orator  for  us  "),  155  ("  Soldiers,  play  the  men  "), 
so  159;  I  182  ("make  us  jesting  pageants  for  their  trulls"), 
II  161  ("thy  soldiers  marched  like  players,  With  garish  robes, 
not  armour");  Tragedy  II  228  ("I  see  my  tragedy  written  in 
thy  brows  "),  so  231,  242,  282,  297. 

Miscellaneous:  Unspotted  I  85  (Unspotted  prayers);  Melt 
I  85,  II  227  (thy  heart  will  melt);  Poison3  II  129  ("  Swoln 
with  venom  of  pride,"  cf.  II  367);  Climbing,  Mounting,  etc.,  I  46 
("climbing  after  knowledge  infinite"),  II  9  ("My  climbing 
followers"),  156   ("Mounting   thoughts"),   243,  cf.  283,  cf.  I   19 

1  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  III  ii  73  : 

"  Say  that  upon  the  altar  of  her  beauty 
You  sacrifice  your  tears." 

2Cf.-The  Comedy  of  Errors  IV  ii  6  :  "his  heart's  meteors  tilting  in  his 
face." 

3  Poison  of  a  literal  sort  also  appears  frequently  in  Marlowe,  e.  g.  II  49,  55, 
67,  163,  221,  242. 


CHRISTOPHER  MARLOWE.  47 

("Affecting   thoughts  coequal  with   the  clouds"),  and  28  ("Like 

his   desire   lift    upward");    Pierce    I    27    ("my    heart   to  be  with 

gladness  pierced"),  28,  30,  119,  203,  II  60,  137  ;  Labyrinth  II  64 

("The  fatal   labyrinth  of  misbelief");  Balance,  weigh,  etc.  I   19 

(weigh  =  esteem).  85  : 

•■  Your  honors,  liberties,  and  lives  are  weighed 
In  equal  care  and  balance  with  our  own." 

II  9;  Fold,  Wrap.  etc.  I  29  ("hair  Wrapped  in  curls"),  35 
(bullets  enrolled  in  flame),  53  ("his  choler  .  .  .  wrapt  in  silence 
of  his  .  .  .  soul"),  72,  86  ("folded  furrows  of  his  brows"),  241, 
II  40  ("bullets  wrapt  in  smoke");  II  1 24  ("  henceforth  parley 
with  our  naked  swords"),  143  (to  greet  with  a  poniard); 
Scourge,  Whip  I  57  ("I  that  am  termed  the  scourge  and  wrath  of 
God").  75.  123,  144,  160,  1S2,  II  248,  260  ("  I'll  whip  you  to 
death  with  my  poniard's  point"),  265  ;  Pour  I  95,  132,  171,  II 
177,  1S2  ("This  day  I  shall  pour  vengeance  with  my  sword  On 
those  proud   rebels");   Melt,  dissolve  I  95,  96  ;  Smother   I  96,  II 

54- 

When  we  review  these  schedules  it  appears    that   Marlowe's 

imagination    draws  upon   no  very  wide  range    of   sources   for  its 

effects.     The    largest  part    and    the   most    striking 

Recapitulation    part  of  the  above  lists  is  derived  from  Tamburlaine. 

But   the   mature    Marlowe    is    not   represented  by 

Tamburlaine.  and  the  most  remarkable   feature  of   the  later  plays 

is  the  surprisingly  small  amount  of  figure  employed.     Nor  can  it 

fairly  be  said   that   the   range  and  character  of  such  imagery  as 

therein  appears  are  verv  great  or  striking.      The  effect  of  Faustus 

and  of  Edward  II  depends   for  the  greater  part   on  other  things. 

When    we  consider   his   imagery    as    a    whole    it    is    noticeable 

that  nature,  especiallv  the  aspects  of   the  heavens,  fire,1  storms, 

etc.,  supplv  a  considerable  part.     Not  only  has  Marlowe's  genius 

apparently   a   natural   affinity    for   these    images,    but    they    lend 

themselves  more  readily   to  grandiose  and  hyperbolical  effects. 

Death,  hell,  and   heaven   are   similarly  laid   under  contribution. 

Classical   allusion,   especially   in   connection    with   these    images 


1 " 


....   his  raptures  were 
All  ayre  and  fire."     (Drayton,  Battle  of  Agincourt.) 


48  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

(Phoebus,  Cynthia,  Avernus,  Styx,  etc.),  is  interwoven  at  all 
points.  Noticeable  is  the  small  proportion  of  comparisons  drawn 
from  colloquial  and  familiar  sources,  from  domestic  life,  and 
from  the  various  occupations  of  men,  although  the  tragic  poet 
and  idealist  of  course  has  less  occasion  to  draw  upon  such  sources 
than  the  realist  and  the  writer  of  comedy. 


THOMAS  KYD 

I557?~i595? 


49 


THOMAS  KYD. 

In  view  of  the  doubt  that  involves  the  authorship  of  the  vari- 
ous plays  ascribed  to  Kyd,  it  would  not  here  be  profitable  to 
attempt  an  analysis  of  the  range  and  sources  of  his  imagery. 
The  First  Part  of  Jeronimo  and  The  Spanish  Tragedy,1  however, 
seem  to  have  been  so  important  and  "epoch  making"2  that  it 
will  be  well  to  record  here  some  of  the  more  striking  metaphors 
and  similes  found  in  these  plays. 

Jeronimo,  with  all  its  general  formlessness  and  extravagance, 
has  a  number  of  metaphors,  including  a  few  striking  and  effective 

ones,  as  will  be  seen  below.  The  author  is  fond  of 
Striking  strange  compound   epithets:   e.g.  352   well-strung 

and  Similes        sPeech'  355  lip-blushing  kiss,  357  honey-damnation, 
in  Teronimo         35^  ink-soul,  360  true-breasted.3     Other  noteworthy 

tropes  are:  353:  "A  melancholy,  discontented 
courtier,  Whose  famished  jaws  look  like  the  chap  of  death." 
Almost  everything  in  Jeronimo,  of  course,  is  violent  and  extrava- 
gant.    365: 

"Then  I  unclasp4  the  pit  rple  leaves  of  war ; 
Many  a  new  wound  must  gasp  through  an  old  scar." 

384  :   "O,  in  thy  heart, 

Weigh  the  dear  drops  of  many  a  purple  part 
That  must  be  acted  on  the  field's  green  stage."5 

Every  subsequent  dramatic  author  will  be  found  drawing 
metaphors  in  this  way  from  the  stage. 

391  "Mv  blood's  A-tiptoe ; "  351  "rough-hewn  tyrants;" 
Melt    354,   359,    375,   383   ("thy    court    melt  in    luxuriousness"), 


'Both  produced  between  1 584-1 589. 
->;.  monds,  Shaks.  Pred.,  487. 
3Cf.  V  352  marrow-burning  love. 
<Cf.  Ford,  II  47  "unclasp  The  book  of  lust." 
sCf.  also  pp.  374,  376,  390  (to  play  a  part). 

51 


52  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

391,   394;   Stamp   353  ("a  lad  .   .   .   of  this  stamp"),   355,    357; 

Bowels  363  ("in  the  battle's  bowels"),  3S0  ; 

371  :  "  The  badger  feeds  not,  till  the  lion's  served  ; 
Nor  fits  it  news  so  soon  kiss  subjects'  ears, 
As  the  fair  cheek  of  high  authority." 

3S6  :   "  I  long  to  hear  the  music  of  clashed  swords." 
387  :  "  Now  death  doth  heap  his  goods  up  all  at  once, 
And  crams  his  storehouse  to  the  top  with  blood  ; 
Might  I  now  and  Andrea  in  one  fight 
Make  up  thy  wardrobe  richer  by  a  knight !" 

The  Spanish  Tragedy  is  even  more  extravagant,  but  it  has  a  few 
fine  passages  of  hyperbolical  passion.     It  is  marred  by  a  super- 
fluity of  cheap   classical    mythology,   especially   in 
In  the  the  way  of  allusions  to  Acheron,  the  Styx,  Pluto, 

_        ,  Elysium,  etc.     It  has  very  little  striking  metaphor, 

Tragedy  J  -  5  r 

and  it  is  remarkable  with  how  little  help  of  figure 

are  written  the  one  or  two  stronger  passages  of  the  play  supposed 

to  be  additions  by  Ben  Jonson. 

Vol.  V.  68  :   "  The  night,  sad  secretary  to  my  moans" 

101  :   "Of  that  thine  ivory  front,  my  sorrow's  map"1 
"  Wherein  I  see  no  haven  to  rest  my  hope." 

105  :  "He  had  not  seen  the  back  of  nineteen  years." 

in  ;  "Thou  hast  made  me  bankrupt  of  my  bliss." 

115  :   "  Yonder  pale-faced  Hecate  there,  the  moon." 

1 68  :  "  Methinks  since  I  grew  inward  with,  revenge, 
I  cannot  look  with  scorn  enough  on  death."2 

Tropes  common  to  two  or  more  of   the  following  plays  attri- 
buted to  Kyd  :3     Jeronimo,  The  Spanish  Tragedy,  Cornelia  (trans- 
lation), Soliman  and  Perseda : 
Tropes  IVIelt  IV  (as  above),  V  127,  246;  Print,  charac- 

Commonto  IV  358,   385,   V   276;   Showers   IV  358, 

Various  Plays  JD       °    D  '     '  J  , 

Ascribed  "^  29^  '  Choke  IV  361,  382,  V  90  ;  Scabbard,  Sheathe 

to  Kyd  IV   361,  V   222,   321;    Pawn    IV   363,    387,  V   30; 

Infect  IV   379,  V  90,   203;  Toad  IV  379,  V  325; 

1  A  frequent  metaphor  in  others,  e.  g.  Chapman,  79b,  406b,  etc. 
2Cf.  Hazlitt's  note,  referring  to  parallels  in  Marston  and  Tourneur. 
3 The  references   are   to   Hazlitt's  Dodsley, — Vol.  IV  to  Jeronimo;  Vol.  V 
1-173  to  Sp.  Trag.  ;   183-252  to  Cornelia  ;  257-374  to  Sol.  and  Pers. 


THOMAS  A'VD.  53 

Adamant  IV  372,  V  159,  300;  Stoop  IV  391,  V  47,  195,  230; 
the  Stage  IV  574,  376,  384,  39°-  v  4'.  3°5-  35s>  364,  373  i  Pierce 

IV  387,  V  295;  Honey  IV  351,  V  8,  46,  334:  Bowels  IV  352, 
363,  V  in,  321,  cf.  Entrails  V  1S9,  199;  Bait  IV  35$,  V  1S5  ; 
Thunder  IV  352,  355,  373,  V  193;  Salve,  Balm  V  SS,  97-,  307  ; 
Sickle  and  Harvest  V  61,  340;  Cloak  V  124,  214,  325  ;  Simile  of 
Ship  in  a  Stormy  Sea  V  43,  185,  259,  349  ;  "translucent  breast" 

V  31,  the  same  295  ;  Ransom  V  67,  28S  ;   Lamp  V  159,  300,  334. 

Little  of  this  can  reallv  be  called  evidence  of  common  author- 
ship in  these  plavs,  since  almost  every  one  of  these  metaphors 
occurs  so  often  throughout  the  period.  Still  it  may  be  taken  for 
what  it  is  worth.  The  resemblances  among  the  last  three  plays 
are  more  noticeable  than  any  that  Jeronimo  bears  to  the  others. 


ROBERT  GREENE 

?  1560-1592 


Acted  Published  Pages 

1 59 1  ?  x594  Orlando  Furioso       -  -         -  89-1 11 

1589  ?(Fleay)  1594  Friar  Bacon  and  Friar  Bungay  -     1 53-181 

1592?  J598  James  the  Fourth      -  -  -  187-220 

1592?  J599  Alphonsus,  King  of  Arragon  -     225-248 


55 


ROBERT  GREENE. 

Greene,  like  Peele,  is  of  little  account  as  a  dramatist.      His 

faults,  —  the  fustian,  the  monotonous  blank  verse,  the  misplaced 

and  excessive  classical  allusion1  —  are  those  of  his 

!\    J  y  school.2     But  he  has  no  verv  striking  merits  of  his 

his  Imagery  -  ° 

own  to  counterbalance  these  faults.  "  Writing  in 
direct  competition  with  Marlowe,"  says  Mr.  J.  A.  Symonds,3 
'Vand  striving  to  produce  'strong  lines,'  Greene  indulged  in 
extravagant  imagery,  which,  because  it  lacks  the  animating  fire  of 
Marlowe's  rapture,  degenerates  into  mere  bombast. "_]  Mr.  Minto4 
thinks  he  traces  the  influence  of  Greene  on  Shakspere's  diction. 
The  evidence,  however,  is  not  verv  striking.  The  inferiority  of 
Greene  as  a  dramatic  poet  appears  in  the  general  poverty  and 
commonplaceness  of  his  imagery;  Hallam5  thinks  that  he  is  "a 
little  redundant  in  images,"  but  this  criticism  can  apply  only  to 
the  Orlando  Furioso.  where  Greene's  peculiar  pseudo-classical 
imagerv  is  heaped  up  in  superabundant  measure.6  Otherwise  his 
imagery  is  somewhat  scanty.  He  uses  few  striking  and  original 
metaphors.  He  is,  however,  fond  of  accumulating  "gorgeous 
particulars"  and  costlv  descriptions,  as  has  been  noted.7     When 

he  feels  prompted  to  be  poetical,  as  in  Orlando 
His  Favorite         „      .        ,      ,  ,  c  a 

^  Furioso,  he  becomes  profuse  in  two  sorts  of  figures  : 

Forms  r  ° 

(i)     Sententious     tropes,    proverb,     parable,    fable 

'"His  main  stylistic  defect  is  the  employment  of  cheap  Latin  mythology 
in  and  out  of  season"  (Symonds,  Shaks.  Pred.,  55S). 

2 "En  somme,  le  talent  de  Greene  n'est  qu'un  pale  reflet  de  celui  de  Lyly 
et  de  Marlowe  "  (Mezieres  Pred.  et  Cont.  de  Shaks.  1471. 

3 Shaks.  Pred.,  562. 

4  Char,  of  Eng.  Poets,  242. 

5  Lit.  of  Eur.,  Pt.  II,  ch.  vi,  §  32. 

6  There  are  over  100  classical  allusions  in  Orlando  Furioso  ;  less  than  100 
in  the  other  three  plays  taken  together. 

7.Minto  I.e.  243;  Collier  II  532.  The  most  striking  of  these  are:  89b, 
in,  165,  169-170. 

57 


58  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

and  short  allegory,  (2)  short  similes,  especially  those  of  classi- 
cal material  (e.  g.  "richer  than  the  plot  Hesperides  ").  There 
are  over  one  hundred  formal  similes,  including  seven  prolonged 
similes,  in  the  four  plays,  the  greater  number  in  Orlando  Furioso. 
His  metaphors  and  similes  do  not  reveal  any  great  degree  of 
imagination.  It  is  true,  as  Mr.  Minto  observes,1  that  his  classical 
comparisons  are  not  as  generally  wooden  and  perfunctory  as 
those  of  some  of  his  contemporaries.  "  He  had  the  notion  of 
giving  life  to  dead  names;"  e.  g.  236  : 

"  See  now  he  stands  as  one  that  lately  saw 
Medusa's  head  or  Gorgon's  hoary  hue;"2 

89  :        "  Topt  high  with  plumes,  like  Mars  his  burgonet," 

90  :        "  The  sands  of  Tagus  all  of  burnished  gold 

Made  Thetis  never  prouder  on  the  clifts 
That  overpeer  the  bright  and  golden  shore, 
Than  do  the  rubbish  of  my  country  seas." 

But  his  manner  on  the  whole  is  rhetorical  and  literate.3  He 
has  his  share  of  bombast  and  fustian,  especially  in  Alphonsus, 
which  was  written  "in  direct  rivalry  to  Tamburlaine."*  See 
e.  g.  98-106  passim  (Orlando's  madness)  99,  230,  231,  234.  His 
imagery  is  literary;5  it  is  less  original  than  Peele's  even. 
Greene's  nature  images  are  few  and  are  not  vividly  rendered. 
There  is  the  usual  amount  of  Euphuistic  natural  history.  He  is 
fond  of  proverb  and  sententious  comparison.6  Greene  as  a 
dramatic  writer  as  much  as  Peele  fails  to  leave  any  very  definite 

'Char,  of  Eng.  Poets,  243. 

2Cf.  Chapman,  170  b. 

3  Greene  is  very  profuse  in  Classical  Allusion.  A  few  of  the  more  striking 
examples  are  :  89a  Venus'  doves;  89-91  Jason,  Ulysses,  Jupiter  and  Danae, 
Hercules  and  Iole,  Thetis,  Andromache,  Hector  and  Achilles,  etc. ;  Siege  of 
Troy  92a,  106a;  Paris  96a,  158a;  106b,  99a  ("like  mad  Orestes");  Cupid 
190b;  Nestor  199b;  234b  (Midas  and  Bacchus,  Jupiter  and  Alcmena,  Saturn 
and  Tros);  of  a  historical  nature  :  90  (Caesar  in  England);  Cassius  94b,  164b  ; 
Nero's  mother  108b;  Lucrece  154a;  Cleopatra  170a;  etc. 

"Fleay,  Chron.  Eng.  Dr.,  I  257. 

5  Examples  of  prolonged  similes  in  Greene  are  pp.  93b,  95a,  196b,  199b, 
228b,  230a. 

6E.  g.  154b,  161b,  173b,  191b,  192a,  193a,  196b,  200,  201b,  204a,  206b, 
208a,  213b,  214b,  216a,  226,  228b,  236b,  238a,  246b,  etc.  Fable  219a. 


ROBERT  GREENE.  59 

impression.  In  James  //'he  has  glimpses  of  character.  Doro- 
thea is  finely  conceived.  His  plots  in  two  or  three  instances 
contain  the  germ  of  good  dramatic  situations  ;  but  his  execution 
is  always  inferior.  Strangely  enough,  in  view  of  his  life  and 
habits,  Greene's  plays  contain  little  that  is  coarse  or  indelicate. 
He  has  very  few  coarse  or  disgusting  images. 

RANGE  AND  SOURCES  OF  HIS  IMAGERY. 

Greene's  range  is  narrow  and  is  emphasized  in  no  particular 
direction.     NATURE  is  only  slightly  represented  in  his  plavs. 

Aspects  of  the  Sky  :  The  sun  shines  here  and  there  in  Greene, 
but  usually  disguised  as  Phoebus  :  e.  g.  93b.  : 

"  the  sparkling  light  of  fame, 
Whose  glory's  brighter  than  the  burnished  gates 
From  whence  Latona's  lordly  son  doth  march, 
When,  mounted  on  his  coach  tinsell'd  with  flames, 
He  triumphs  in  the  beauty  of  the  heavens." 

These  lines  have  a  certain  rhythmic  swing  and  naive  splendor 
of  imagery!  Cf.  89a,  90b;  190a  ("beauty  shines'");  Fire:  97a 
(jealousy  like  the  flames  of  /Etna),  so  107b;  98a,  153b,  191a 
(the  fire  of  love);  the  Moon  and  Stars  93b  : 

"...    seest  thou  not  Lycaon's  son, 
The  hardv  plough-swain  unto  mighty  Jove, 
Hath  traced  his  silver  furrows  in  the  heavens, 
And  turning  home  his  over-watched  team. 
Gives  leave  unto  Apollo's  chariot  ?" 
168b  ("  Gracious  as  the  morning  star  of  heaven.")' 
170a  :  "Margaret,  That  overshines  our  damsels  as  the  moon 

Darkeneth  the  brightest  sparkles  of  the  night." 
Cf.  1  78b,  194a,  231a  ("  As  clear  as  Luna  in  a  winter's  night"). 

233a  "  Ere  Cynthia,  the  shining  lamp  of  night, 

Doth  scale  the  heavens  with  her  horned  head." 
Clouds:   94a  ("The  misty  veil  strained  over  Cynthia.") 
The  Vegetable  World  :    Flowers  90b  : 

"  Fairer  than  was  the  nymph  of  Mercury, 
Who,  when  bright  Phoebus  mounteth  up  his  coach. 
And  tracts  Aurora  in  her  silver  steps 
[  Doth  sprinkle]  from  the  folding  of  her  lap 
White  lilies,  roses,  and  sweet  violets." 

»Cf.  Lvlv,  II  160. 


60  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

96a  :   "  Sweet  crystal  springs, 

Wash  ye  with  roses  when  she  longs  to  drink." 

176a  :   "  Thy  father's  hair,  like  to  the  silver  blooms, 
That  beautify  the  shrubs  of  Africa." 

179a  (Friar  Bacon's  prophecy  of  the  coming  flower  of  Eng- 
land—  Queen  Elizabeth),  196b: 

"Some  men  like  to  the  rose 
Are  fashioned  fresh  ;  some  in  their  stalks  do  close, 
And,  born,  do  sudden  die  ;  some  are  but  weeds, 
And  yet  from  them  a  secret  good  proceeds." 

The  Animal  World,  outside  of  the  Euphuistic  natural  history, 
is  represented  by  some  dozen  references  in  Greene  : 

Serpents  :   220a  (bad  counsellors  are  vipers).      Birds,  Wings 

177b  :  "To  scud  and  overscour  the  earth  in  post 

Upon  the  speedy  wings  of  swiftest  winds  !  " 

Eagle  201a,  "  What,  like  the  eagle  then, 

With  often  flight  wilt  thou  thy  feathers  loose? 

Cf  215a.  Peacock  244b  (emblem  of  pride)  ;  Sheep  and  wolves 
230a  (the  stock  simile  of  sheep  scattering  before  the  wolves  :  cf 
236a)  ;  Horses  242a  ("  horses  that  be  free  Do  need  no  spurs")  ; 
Dogs   243a;   Grasshoppers  91b  : 

"  Such  a  crew  of  men 
As  shall  so  fill  the  downs  of  Africa 
Like  to  the  plains  of  watery  Thessaly, 
Whenas  an  eastern  gale,  whistling  aloft, 
Hath  overspread  the  ground  with  grasshoppers."  ' 

Bees   190b  (Love,  like  a  bee,  hath  a  sting).     See  the  fable  of 

the  Hind  and  the  Lion's  Whelp  219a. 

Under  Fabulous  Natural  History  come  : 

Adamant  201b  ("The  adamant  will  not  be  fil'd  But  by  itself "). 

Asbestos    232a  :  "  My  mind  is  like  to  the  asbeston-stone, 
Which  if  it  once  be  heat  in  flames  of  fire, 
Denieth  to  becomen  cold  again." 

Dictamnum2  208a   (a   cure   for   the   wounds   of  beasts:     see 

Dyce's   note    p.    208);     171b  (evanescent   as   the  bloom    of    the 

almond-tree,  or  "the   flies   haemerae  ")  ;   189b  (eagles  and  their 

'Cf.  Iliad,  XXI  12. 
2Cf.  Peele,  I  35-6. 


ROBERT  GREENE.  61 

young)  ;  22Sb  (long  simile  of  the  serpent  which,  cut  in  pieces, 
is  revived  if  its  head  finds  a  certain  herb)  ;  236b  (simile  of  the 
echinus,  or  hedgehog,  which  keeps  her  young  in  her  paunch  till 
•'  their  pricks  be  waxen  long  and  sharp  "). 

MAN   AND  HUMAN  LIFE.     Arts  and  Learning  : 

i6Sa  :   "  Lordly  thou  look'st,  as  if  that  thou  wert  learn'd  ; 
Thv  countenance  as  if  science  held  her  seat 
Between  the  circled  arches  of  thy  brows." 

Painting:  94b  ("paint  my  grief"),  98a,  154a,  195b,  225a. 

Print  :   94b  ("So  firmly  is  Orlando  printed  in  my  thoughts"). 

Law:  91a  :  "Venus  .  .  . 

Hath  sent  proud  love  to  enter  such  a  plea 
As  nonsuits  all  your  princely  evidence." 
91b  : 

"[Her  presence]  Prevails  with  me,  as  Venus'  smiles  with  Mars, 
To  set  a  supersedeas  of  my  wrath." 

160b  (Bacon's  consistory-court  wherein  the  devils  plead);  235a 
("Naught  else  but  death  from  prison  shall  him  bail"). 

Agriculture:  200a  (The  husbandman  does  not  forsake  his  field 
when  his  crop  fails). 

Building:    173a:  "Bacon, 

The  turrets  of  thy  hope  are  ruin'd  down, 
Thy  seven  years  study  lieth  in  the  dust." 

Wall  158a  :  ...  "the  West 

Ringed  with  the  walls  of  old  Oceanus, 
Whose  lofty  surge  is  like  the  battlements 
That  compass'd  high-built  Babel  in  with  towers." 

Weaving:  nib  (Silk  "from  the  native  looms  of  laboring 
worms  "); 

Hunting:  94a  ("To  plav  him  hunt's-up  with  a  point  of 
war"),    190b  (stales  or  decoys). 

Greene  is  reported  to  have  studied  "physic,"  and  yet  I  note 
no  tropes  drawn  from  medicine  in  his  plays. 

Colloquial  and  Familiar  Images  occur  mostly  in  the  form  of 
proverbial  expressions  appearing  in  the  comic  scenes:  93a 
("to  hold  the  candle  before  the  devil,"  i.  e.,  to  propitiate  evil 
and  powerful  opponents),  169a  ("  as  serviceable  at  a  table  as  a 


62  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

sow  is  under  an  apple-tree");'  173b  ("the  more  the  fox  is 
cursed,  the  better  he  fares");2  193a  (quoted — "No  fishing  to 
\_—  equal  to]  the  sea,  nor  service  to  a  king"),  200a  : 

"Men  seek  not  moss  upon  a  rolling  stone, 
Or  water  from  the  sieve,  or  fire  from  ice, 
Or  comfort  from  a  reckless  monarch's  hands," 

174a  ("  love  together  like  pig  and  lamb"),  187b  ("I  engraved  the 
memory  of  Bohan  on  the  skin-coat  of  some  of  them  "),  203a 
("this  word  is  like  a  warm  caudle  to  a  cold  stomach"),  209b 
("like  a  frog  in  a  parsley-bed  ;  as  skittish  as  an  eel  "),  196b  (the 
world  compared  to  needlework). 

The  Body:   89b  (bowels  of  the  earth). 

War:  Shield  234b  ("[I]  will  be  thy  shield  against^ all  men 
alive");   243a  (Cannon) ;   246: 

"What,  know  vou  not  that  castles  are  not  won 
At  first  assault,  and  women  are  not  woo'd 
When  first  their  suitors  proffer  love  to  them  ?" 

Subjective  Life :    1 6 1  b  : 

"Love,  like  a  wag,  straight  div'd  into  my  heart, 
And  there  did  shrine  the  idea  of  yourself." 
cf.  1 66b. 

Miscellaneous  Metaphors:  Climbing:  201a  (craft  climbs  high),' 
220a,  225a:  Mirror  241b  ("the  mirror  of  mishap");  cf.  215b 
(lantern  i.  e.  model);  Folding  92a  ("Folding  their  wraths  in 
cinders  of  fair  Troy"),  153b: 

"And  in  her  tresses  she  doth  fold  the  looks 
Of  such  as  gaze  upon  her  golden  hair." 

154a  ("in  her  shape  fast  folded  up  my  thoughts"),  cf.  161a; 
Lamps,  96a,  178b  ("the  crystal  lamps  of  heaven"),  233a;  Bal- 
ance 1 6  6a; 

"[Think  vou]  that  Margaret's  love 

Hangs  in  the  uncertain  balance  of  proud  time  ?" 

*Cf.  Ben  Jonson  I  114b. 
2Cf.  Jonson,  I  390a. 


CYRIL  TOURNEUR 


Acted  Published  Vol.  Pages 

1603?       161 1  The  Atheists  Tragedy   -  -  I  5-155 

Entered 

1607          1607  The  Rev 'en ger 's  Tragedy  -  -   II  5-150 


63 


TOURNEUR. 


The  poetic  and  imaginative  merits  of  the  work  of  this  strange 

genius   have  been   adequately  appreciated  by  competent  critics.1 

After   his   '"acute   sense   for   dramatic  situations."2 

Dramatic  a  qUaijtv  which  he  shares  in  common  with  Webster, 

Intensity  of  ,        J  ,  .  ...  .  ... 

,.    n.  ,.  perhaps   his    most    striking    characteristic   is    "  the 

boldness,   felicity,   and   originality  of  his   imagery 

and  trick  of  putting  things."3     Tourneur  first  perhaps  of    the 

minor  Elizabethans  satisfies  that  demand  for  intense  and  lurid 

expression  which   seems   to   us   to   be   the  dramatic    ideal   of  the 

period,  at  least  in   tragedy.      Kyd  has  gleams  of  the  same   thing, 

and  so  has  Marlowe  in  a  mightier  way;  but  both  are  marred  by 

mere  hyperbole  in  overmeasure;   and  even   Marlowe  onlv  rarely4 

condenses  the  utterance  of  passion  into  single  lines  and  phrases 

of  such  burning    intensity.     "  For  single    lines  of  that  intense 

and  terrible  beauty  which   makes  incision   in   the  memory,  there 

is    none,   after   Shakspere,   to   compare  with   him   but   Webster," 

writes  Mr.  Swinburne.5     Crudeness,  extravagance,  and  hyperbole, 

are   among    the    faults   of  Tourneur's   work;    but    much   of   his 

imagery    is    comparatively    free    from    these    blemishes,    and    is 

inspired  with   imaginative  brevity  and   force.      Especially  is  this 

true  of  The  Revenger 's  Tragedy,  which  is  distinctly  superior  to  The 

Atheist's  Tragedy,   and   by  which   Tourneur   ought   chiefly   to  be 

judged. 

Un,  its    excess    Tourneur's    imagination    descends    to    such 

Hyperbole  in       examples   of   hyperbole    and    extravagance   as    the 

Tourneur  following  :    I  54  : 

1  Lamb,  Swinburne,  J.  A.  Symonds,  J.  C.  Collins,  etc. 

2Symonds,  Introduction  to  Mermaid  ed.  of  Webster  ami  Tourneur.  p.  xii. 

3 Tourneur  ed.  J.  C.  Collins  Introd.,  p.  xlix. 

4E.  g.  as  in  "See  where  Christ's  blood  streams  in  the  firmament,"  etc. 

5  Essays  and  Studies,  p.  310. 

65 


UN' 


J>? 


66  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

"  Drop  out 
Mine  eyeballs  and  let  envious  Fortune  play 
At  tennis  with  'em." 

I  119  :        "I  could  now  commit 

A  murder,  were  it  but  to  drink  the  fresh 
Warm  blood  of  him  I  murder'd  to  supply 
The  want  and  weakness  of  my  own, 
Tis  grown  so  cold  and  phlegmatic." 

I  136:   "  His  gasping  sighs  are  like  the  falling  noise 

Of  some  great  "building  when  the  groundwork  breaks." 

Cf.  I  115,11  46,  52,  78,  80,  115.  Sometimes  indeed  the 
orio-inalitv  and  power  of  Tourneur's  imagination  is  characteristi- 
cally displayed  in  these  very  extravagances  :  e.  g.  II  54  : 

"  Hast  thou  beguiled  her  of  salvation, 
And  rubb'd  hell  o'er  with  honey?" 
or  II  90 : 

"  Let  our  two  other  hands  tear  up  his  lids, 
And  make  his  eyes  like  comets  shine  through  blood." 

Perhaps  intense  imaginative  suggestiveness  is  the  first  char- 
acteristic of  Tourneur's  work.     Sometimes  the  effect  is  produced 
by  the  use  of  a  periphrastical   image,   of  an    innu- 
His  en(j0  conveyed  through  a  picture,  as,  for  example, 

Imaginative        whgn  Castabella  says  to  Rousard  :   "I'll  give  you   a 
Suggestiveness  .  TX     .  T  „„„_ 

&&  jewel  to  hang  m  your  ear. —  Hark  ye  —  I  can  never 

love  you"  (I  27);  or  I  13  : 

"What,  ha'  you  washed  your  eyes  W?  tears  this  morning  ? 

II  70  :  "  Rise  my  lords,  your  knees  sign  his  release 

We  freely  pardon  him."1 

II  37  :  "if,  at  the  next  sitting, 

Judgment  speak  all  in  gold'     [i.  e.  yield  to  bribes]. 

II  84:  "Why  does  yon  fellow  falsify  highways 

And  put  his  life  between  the  judge's  lips?" 

II  105  :  "hoping  at  last 

To  pile  up  all  my  -wishes  on  his  breast" 

[i.  e.  to  glut  my  revenge  on  him].     See  also  1  148. 

'Cf.  Massinger,  The  Duke  of  Milan.  II  i : 

"  I  am  merciful, 
And  dotage  signs  your  pardon." 


CYRIL   TOURNEUR.  67 

Sometimes  it  is  rather  by  ellipsis  and  condensation  : 

I  29:         ''Time  cuts  off  circumstance  j   I  must  be  brief."1 

II  $S  :      "  Wipe  your  lady  from  your  eyes." 

-i.   p  II  so  (to  be  inward  with  —  cf.  Kyd,  Hazlitt's  Dods- 

Figures  Jy  v  J 

lev  V  168);  cf.  II    130  (to  have  made  my  revenge 
familiar  with  him  ;"  cf.  II  38). 

I  9  :  "the  scorn  of  their  discourse 

Turns  smiling  back  upon  your  backwardness." 

II  65  :       Is  the  day  out  a'  the  socket  ?"a 

Sometimes,  combined  with  the  elliptical  swiftness  and  the 
periphrastical  significance  of  the  figure,  the  mere  vividness  or 
Striking  and  beauty  of  the  comparison,  or  the  ethical  impressive- 
Impressive  ness  of  its  application,  explain  the  secret  of  its 
Comparisons       effectiveness  : 

I  34  :     "Your  gravity  becomes  your  perish'd  soul 

As  hoary  mouldiness  does  rotten  fruit." 

II  51  :     "Your  tongues  have  struck  hot  irons  on  my  face." 

68  :     "Thy  wrath,  like  flaming  wax,  hath  spent  itself." 

85  :     "  Ladies,  with  false  forms 

You  deceive  men,  but  cannot  deceive  worms." 

120:      "Are  you  so  barbarous  to  set  iron  nipples  —  [daggers] 
Upon  the  breast  that  gave  you  suck  ?" 

127  :  "I  could  scarce 

Kneel  out  my  prayers,  and  had  much  ado, 
In  three  hours'  reading,  to  untwist  so  much 
Of  the  black  serpent  as  you  wound  about  me." 

139  :  "to  stab  home  their  discontents." 

Sometimes  we  meet  a  subtle  introversion  of  thought  phrased 
in   striking  form, —  what  perhaps,  with   other  things,  a  writer  in 

,  .  ..  the  Retrospective  Review1  had  in  mind   in  speaking 

Introspective  r  ' 

Conceits  of  the  "  metaphysical  "  vein  in  Tourneur's  poetry: 

II  24:   "Am  I  far  enough  from  myself?" 

51  :     "Mother,  come  from  that  poisonous  woman  there." 

'Cf.  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Bonduca,  I  ii  : 

"time  Cuts  off  occasions." 
3Cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet,  III  v  9  :  ''  Night's  candles  are  burnt  out  " 
3  Vol.  VII  333. 


68  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

124:     "Joy's  a  subtile  elf. 

I  think  man's  happiest  when  he  forgets  himself."1 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  Tourneur  is  master  of  a  certain  sort 
of  dramatic  imagery,  and  that  his  power  largely  depends  upon  it. 
His  diction  is  highly  metaphorical,  but  at  the  same  time  highly 
dramatic.  Most  of  the  mere  machinery  of  the  older  poetic  dic- 
tion is  abandoned  in  Tourneur:2  metaphor  and  simile  become 
full  of  meaning  at  every  turn  in  his  lines.  Similes  of  a  brief  sort 
are  freely  employed;3  personification,  both  full  and  concealed, 
also  is  used  with  effect:  e.g.  II  33:  "Sword,  I  durst  make  a 
promise  of  him  to  thee,"  etc. 

37  :      "Step  forth;  thou  bribeless  officer"  [to  his  sword]. 

78  :      "Grief  swum-in  their  eyes." 

Cf.  I  9,  17,  40  (the  passage  quoted  in  Lamb, —  the  sea  weep- 
ing over  Charlemont's  body),  48,  55,-  133;  IJ  s>  IO>  r4>  24,  25> 
35-  52>  67,  69. 

RANGE  AND  SOURCE  OF  IMAGERY. 

NATURE:     Aspects  of  the  Sky, The  Elements,  etc.:    I  92  ("this 

little  world  of  man");  I  17  (the  heavens  weeping),  II  So  ("yon 
silver  ceiling"),  90  (comets),  32  (eclipse),  137  ("I  shine  in  tears 
like  the  sun  in  April;"  cf.  I  79);  Clouds  I  94;  Storms  I  57 
(words  a  wind  laid  by  a  shower  of  tears)  cf.  II  122  ;  Fire  I  55 
(stars  like  sparks);  II  56  ("the  maid,  like  an  unlighted  taper, 
Was  cold  and  chaste"),  62,  65,  68,  126,  139;  Thunder  I  39; 
Snow  I  50;   Ice  II  124;   Spring  I  79. 

Aspects  &  Waters,  The  Sea,  etc.:  Water  I  52,  74  (fancy, 
like  troubled  waters,  reflects  brokenly),  II  94  ("words  spoke 
in  tears,  Are  like  the  murmurs  of  the  waters,  the  sound  is 
loudly  heard   but   cannot   be  distinguish'd");   Rivers   I    130,   6 

'  Cf.  Webster,  49b  :     "  There's  nothing  of  so  infinite  vexation 
As  man's  own  thoughts." 

2  He  however  is  not  free  from  occasional  conceits  and  plays  on  words  :  e. 
g.  I  79,  1 18,  129,  II  41,  44,  75.  78,  79,  87  ("  a  grave  look"),  92,  101  ("  there's  a 
doom  would  make  a  woman  dumb  "),  104,  1 19,  122,  126.  Classical  and  literary 
allusion  is  rare  :  Tantalus  I  32,  Pillars  of  Hercules  I  78,  Tereus  I  1 15,  Occasion 
II  8,  10;  a  Latin  quotation  II  35;  ludas  II  28. 

3  One  or  two  longer  ones  appear:   I  145  (8  11.),  146  (5  11.). 


CYRIL  TOVRNEUR.  69 

("pleasure  only  flows  Upon  the  stream  of  riches"),  cf.  2S  ;  II  61 
(flow);  Sea  I  40-41  (personified),  I  130  (the  shipwreck  of  the 
vessel  of  the  body"):  II  29  ("past  my  depth");  I  79  (tears  like 
April  dew):  II  26  ("I  have  seen  patrimonies  wash'd  a'  pieces"); 
II  44  ("spring  with  the  dew  a'  the  Court"),  137. 

Aspects  of  the  Earth,  Vegetable  World,  etc.:  Metal  II  121,  II 
14  (gilt  I:  Clay  11  ioj,  105;  II  146  (marble  impudence);  Trees, 
Branches,  etc.,  1  8  (children  like  branches  and  receive  sap), 
119  (aspen  leaf);  I  146  (early  death  like  fresh-gathered  herbs); 
Fruit  1  34  ("your  gravity  becomes  your  perish'd  soul  As  hoary 
mouldiness  does  rotten  fruit"),  128. 

Animal  World :  Birds,  etc.,  II  15  ("That  lady's  name  has 
spread  such  a  fair  wing  Over  all  Italy");  1  42  ("Thou  art  a 
screech  owl"),  so  54  ;  I  58  (raven)  ;(  II  36  ("fed  the  ravenous  vul- 
ture of  his  lust ") ;  I  47  (goose);  Serpent  II  15,  37,  127;  Flies 
II  129;  Bees,  wax,  etc.,  I  64,  II  68,  123;  II  36  ("The  duchess' 
voungest  son, —  that  moth  to  honor");  Dormice  I  50;  Dogs  I 
151  :    Horse  II  55  (spur,  etc.). 

Fabulous  Natural  History:  Phoenix  I  78;  I  135  (like  the  cries 
of  mandrakes). 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE.  Arts  and  Learning :  I  6  ("Death 
casts  up  Our  total  sum  of  joy"),  12  ("Shall  I  serve  For  nothing 
but  a  vain  parenthesis  I'  th'  honor'd  story  of  vour  family?"), 
15-16  (Castabella's  farewell  like  the  "imperious  close  Of  a  most 
sweet  oration,"  20  11.),  II  137  ("All  sorrows  Must  run  their 
circles  into  joys"). 

Music:  I  72,  91,  132,  II  100,  106  ("I'll  bear  me  in  some 
strain  of  melancholy,  And  string  myself  with  heaw-sounding 
wire,  Like  such  an  instrument  that  speaks  Merry  things  sadly"), 
121  ("quick  in  tune"),  139. 

Law  :  I  96  ("We  enterchange  th'  indenture  of  our  loves"), 
16  (kissing  is  the  seal  of  love),  103  ("That  fellow's  life  .  .  .  Like 
a  superfluous  letter  in  the  law,  Endangers  our  assurance?  —  Scrape 
him  out"),  139  ("In  yon  star-chamber  thou  shalt  answer  it"),  II 
7  ("Vengeance,  thou  Murder's  quit-rent,"  etc.),  41  ("To  be  his 
sin's  attorney"),1  108,  (writ  of  error,  and  certiorari),  129  ("  't'as 

■Cf.  Webster  31a. 


70  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

some  eight  returns  like  Michaelmas  term"),  14  (Law's  iron  fore- 
head). 

Medical  :  I  82  (pleurisy),  85  (like  a  tetter),  II  12  ("discon- 
tent,—  the  nobleman's  consumption"),  69  (purge). 

Various  Estates  and  Occupations :  Government:  I  55  (Stars 
—  viceroys  to  the  King  of  Nature),  92  (emperor  and  sub- 
jects), 133  (gold  a  queen),  II  49  ("What's  honesty?  Tis  but 
heaven's  beggar"),  43  ("that  foolish  country  girl  ,  .  .  Chastity") ; 
II  7  (tenant),  44;  II  n  ("Had  his  estate  been  fellow  to  his 
mind"),  24  ("That  scholar  in  my  cheeks,  fool  bashfulness"),  21 
(a  bastard  —  the  thief  of  nature),  II  26  ("Thou  hast  been  scriv- 
ener to  much  knavery"),  cf.  105  ("He  and  his  secretary  the 
Devil"),  cf.  12. 

Business:  I  23  (to  engross  sin),  19  ("I  will  take  your  friend- 
ship up  at  use,"  etc.),  76  ("Set  down  the  body.  Pay  Earth  what 
she  lent,"  etc.),  II  125  ("put  myself  to  common  usury"),  30 
("honesty  Is  like  a  stock  of  money  laid  to  sleep"). 

Agriculture  :  II  9  ("  he  began  By  policy  to  open  and  unhusk 
me  "),  cf.  1 16. 

Building  :  I  43  (foundation,  etc.),  46  ("My  plot  still  rises, 
According  to  the  model  of  mine  own  desires"),  118  ("this  great 
chamber  of  the  world"),  136;  II  9,  34  ("be  sad  witnesses  Of  a  fair 
comely  building  newly  fallen,  Being  falsely  undermined"),  80 
(stars  and  sky  =  "  Yon  silver  ceiling,"  cf.  Collins' note  ad  loc). 
I  142  ("to  paint  a  rotten  post),  II  128  ("a  virgin's  honor  is  a 
crystal  tower"). 

Domestic  Images :  I  30  (courage  and  love  are  brother  and 
sister),  II  31  ("let  thy  heart  to  him,  Be  as  a  virgin,  close"), 
77  ("Your  hope's  as  fruitless  as  a  barren  woman"),  II  25  ("He  is 
so  near  kin  to  this  present  minute");  Dowry  II  36,  cf.  39;  120 
(iron  nipples). 

Dress  and  Ornament:  I  20  ("She's  like  your  diamond,  a 
temptation  in  every  man's  eye,  yet  not  yielding  to  any  light 
impression  herself"),  27  ("I'll  give  you  a  jewel  to  hang  in  your  ear. — 
Hark  ye  —  I  can  never  love  you"),  116  (eyes  like  diamonds) ; 
Cloth,  etc.,  II  7  (three-piled  flesh),  7  (death's  vizard),  117  ("Nay, 


CYRIL  TOURNEUR.  71 

doubt  not  'tis  in  grainj  I  warrant  it  hold  color"),  57  (knit  and 
ravel),  123  ("To  have  her  train  borne  up,  and  her  soul  trail  I'  the 
dirt"). 

Colloquial,  Coarse,  and  Familiar  Images :  Tourneur  has  many 
gross  comparisons,  and  a  few  of  a  colloquial  sort.  II  26  (''as 
familiar  as  an  ague"),  52  ("Wer't  not  for  gold  and  women 
there  would  be  no  damnation, —  Hell  would  look  like  a  lord's 
great  kitchen  without  a  fire  in't"),  13  ("His  violent  act 
has  .  .  .  Stain'd  our  honors,  Thrown  ink  upon  the  forehead  of 
our  State"),  34  ("I  durst  .  .  .  Venture  my  lands  in  heaven"),  41 
(to  take  the  wall  of),  72  ("here  is  a  pin  [showing  his  dagger] 
Should  quicklv  prick  your  bladder"),  103  ("Slaves  are  but  nails 
to  drive  out  one  another1"),  129  (the  fly-flop  of  vengeance),  132 
('"he  that  dies  drunk  falls  into  hell-fire,  like  a  bucket  of  water, 
qush,  qush!"),  135  ("one  of  his  cast  sins");  Birth,  etc.,  I  58,  150, 
II  36:  Bawd,  etc.,  I  99,  1 18,  153  ;  I  62  (Night  —  the  murderer's 
mistress). 

The  Body,  Its  Parts,  Attributes,  etc.:  I  40  ("the  full- 
stomached  sea");  I  92  ("I've  lost  a  signory  ....  A  wart 
upon  the  bodv  of  the  world");  II  14  (Law's  iron  forehead);  46 
(heaven's  finger) ;  I  115  (the  face  of  heaven);  146  (the  canker  of 
sin):  II  89  ("Now  I  '11  begin  To  stick  thy  soul  with  ulcers");  II 
55  ("How  must  I  blister  my  soul");   Sleep  II  149. 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc. :  I  1 1  ("  Here  are  my  sons, — 
There's  my  eternity");  I  79  ("On  the  altar  of  his  tomb  I 
sacrifice  My  tears").1  Paradise  II  47;  Devil  II  28;  Conjuring, 
spirits,  etc.,  I  52,  87  ;   Influence  of  the  Stars  I  133. 

Death,  the  Grave,  etc. :  I  no  ("this  convocation-house  of 
dead  men's  skulls"),  114  ("  The  poison  of  your  breath,  Evap- 
orated from  so  foul  a  soul,  Infects  the  air  more  than  the 
damps  that  rise  From  bodies  but  half  rotten  in  their  graves"), 
II  37  (monument),  72  ("people's  thoughts  will  soon  be  buried"), 
13  ("The  bowel'd  corpse  May  be  sear'd  in  ;  but  .  .  .  The  faults  of 
great  men  through  their  sear'd  clothes  break"). 

War:      I   13   ("Shall    I  .  .  .  .  hang  but   like  an   empty  Scutch- 

1  Cf.  Marlowe  II  60,  Webster  47b. 


72  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

eon  "),  cf.  II  60  (heraldry) ;  I  76  ("  open  war  with  sin  "),  145  (like  a 
warlike  navy);  II  9  ("the  insurrection  of  his  lust"),  41  (seige),  II 
8  ("Thy  wrongs  and  mine  are  for  one  scabbard  fit"),  62  ("there's 
gunpowder  i'  th'  court"). 

The  Stage  and  the  Drama:  I  57  ("Here's  a  sweet  comedy"), 
155  (their  tragedies)  cf.  II  7,  So,  85,  91,  146,  II  34  (play  a 
part),  II  144  ("  Mark,  Thunder  !  Dost  know  thy  cue,  thou 
big  voiced  crier?"),  52:  ("  O,  Angels,  clap  your  wings  upon 
the  skies,  And  give  this  virgin  crystal  plaudites  ").• 

Miscellaneous:  Melt  II  6,  128  ;  Mirror,  glass,  II  128  ;  Black  II 
74  ("make  him  curse  and  swear,  and  so  die  black");  Spot  II 
122  ;  Poison  II  33,  51,  62,  79  ("O  let  me  venom  Their  souls  with 
curses!"),  120,  127;  Instrument  I  46,  II  31  ;  Coin  and 
Counterfeit  II  9,  10,  61,  149;  Edge  II  45  ("  My  spirit  turns 
edge"),  72  ("go  you  before  And  set  an  edge  upon  the  execu- 
tioner"), 103  ("hope  of  preferment  Will  grind  him  to  an 
edge"). 

Nature  plays  a  comparatively  insignificant  part  in  these  two 
tragedies.  It  is  human  life  in  its  various  aspects  which  chiefly  is 
used  to  illustrate  human  life.  Law  is  well  represented.  Several 
domestic  and  colloquial  images  are  used  with  much  effect.  But 
the  morbid  and  the  crudely  baleful  appear  largely  in  all  of 
Tourneur's  work  and  weaken  its  effect,  so  that  the  vivid  origi- 
nalitv  and  the  lurid  beauty  of  his  imagery  cannot  save  it.  This 
very  imagerv  is  infected  with  the  dark  and  subjective  quality  of 
his  mind, "as  appears  not  only  in  his  various  extravagant,  gross, 
and  repulsive  comparisons,  but  also  in  the  general  tone  and  the 
specific  application  of  many  others. 

1  Cf.  Massinger,  The  Duke  of  Milan,  V  ii  : 

" .  .   .  .  good  angels 
Clap  their  celestial  wings  to  give  it  plaudits." 

Similarly  The  Maid  of  Honor,  V  i. 


JOHN   WEBSTER 


Acted  Published  Pages 

1607  ?  (Fleay)      1612  The     White    Devil,    or     Vittoria 

Corombona         -         -         ■  5-  50 

The  Duchess  of  Jfa//i         -          -  59-101 

The  Devil's  Law   Case  -         -  107-145 

Appius  and  Virginia  -                    -  149-180 


1612  ? 

{( 

1623 

1610? 

(I 

1623 

1609  ? 

11 

1654 

73 


WEBSTER. 

Perhaps  nothing  so  much  as  a  close  and  careful  studv  of  his 

imagery   can    bring  home   to    one   the   extraordinary   originality 

and   power  of   Webster  in   his    particular    sphere. 

Originality  Webster  worked  consciously,  deliberately,  and  with 

and  Power  of  .,              ,                      ,     ,  ,.           .     .  ,         „. 

. .   _  a  thorough  command  of  his  materials.      His  passes 

his  Dramatic  °                                                                           r  & 

Diction  are  strewn  with    tropes,1  and,  in  spite  of  their  pro- 

fusion, such  is  the  keenness  of  his  marvelous 
"analogical  instinct  "  and  the  dramatic  force  of  his  imagination 
that  scarcely  ever  do  they  seem  forced  or  out  of  keeping. 
Language  here  seems  to  reach  the  extreme  of  ruthless  and  biting 
intensity.  There  is  scarcelv  any  faded  imagery,  and  there  are 
very  few  conventional  tags  ;2  everything  stands  out  in  sharp  lines, 
as  if  etched.  The  characteristic  fault  of  Webster's  imagery,  the 
defect  of  his  peculiar  quality,  is  that  he  errs  if  anything  on  the  side 
of  the  bizarre,3  or  even  of  the  grotesque.4  This  criticism  could  be 
enforced  by  many  citations.  Let  two  or  three  typical  similes, 
chosen  at  random,  suffice  : 

9a     "'lis  fixed  with  //ai/s  of  diamond  to  inevitable  necessity." 

60b  "  He  runs  as  if  he  were  ballassed  with  quicksilver." 

80a  "A  politician  is  the  devil's  quilted  anvil  ; 

He  fashions  all  sins  on  him,  and  the  blows 
Are  never  heard." 

'  To  represent  the  Range  and  Sources  of  the  imagery  of  his  four  plays,  I 
am  compelled  to  devote  thirteen  pages,  against  about  four  for  Greene's  four  plays, 
six  for  Peele's  five,  and  eight  for  Marlowe's  six. 

-  Absence  of  the  usual  poetical  phrases,  of  poetical  as  distinguished  from 
dramatic  imagery,  is  doubtless  what  the  writer  of  the  article  on  Webster  in  the 
Retrospective  Review  (Vol.  VII  p.  90)  means  in  saying  that  "in  poetical  imagery 
he  seldom  indulges."  See  to  the  same  effect.  Ward,  Mist.  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.,  II 
261. 

3  So  Mezieres,  Contemp.  et  Succ.  de  Shaks.,  227. 

*  Lowell,  Old  Eng.  Dram.,  71. 

75 


76  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Not  only  the  analogical  but  the  logical  faculty  also  is  inces- 
santly in  play  in  Webster,  but  the  ethical  mordacity  of  his  mind 
is  such  that  he  rarely  falls  into  mere  intellectualism 
Dramatic  an(j  conceits.1     The  conceit  for  the  conceit's   sake 

Decorum  .g    sddom     Webster's    fault.       It    has    usually    an 

emotional  connotation  and  seldom  is  out  of  keeping.  Thus 
Romelio's  bombastic  boast  : 

"  I  cannot  set  myself  so  many  fathom 
Beneath  the  height  of  my  true  heart  as  fear," 

is  strikingly  illustrative  of  his  character,  emphasized  as  it  is  by 
Ariosto's  dry  comment  :  "  Very  fine  words,  I  assure  you,  if  they 
were  To  any  purpose."2  So  the  pathetic  subtlety  of  the  last 
words  of  the  worn  and  tortured  Duchess  : 

"...   Heaven-gates  are  not  so  highly  arch'd 
As  princes'  palaces ;  they  that  enter  there 
Must  go  upon  their  knees."     [Kneels.]3 

And  yet  the  simile,  express  or  implied,  the  usual  mark  of  the 

deliberate  and  self-conscious  mind,  is  perhaps  more  prevalent  in 

Webster's  pages  than  the   metaphor  in  its  various 

„.e.,    ,or  forms.       But    there   is    scarcely    anything    of    the 

Simile  his  -  J 

Favorite  Form    relaxed  and  epical  movement  of  imagery  sometimes 

appearing  in  Peele  and  Marlowe.4   Webster  "  was  the 

most   literary   among   the    Elizabethans,    after  Jonson."         This 

statement  is  exemplified  not  only  in  Webster's  general  method  of 

workmanship,  but   also   in    the   abundance   of   his  historical   and 

literary  allusions.      Classical  ornament  also  is  not  rare  in  Webster, 

although  there  is  little  of  that  superficial  varnish  of   Latin  myth- 

1  Examples  of  conceits  in  Webster  are  :  152b  ("Yon  great  star-chamber;" 
cf.  Tourneur,  I  p.  139),  132b,  50a.  Once  or  twice  Webster  falls  into  mixed 
metaphor:  160b,  161b  ("under  his  smooth  calmness  cloaks  a  tempest ").  He 
is  practically  free  from  Euphuism.  Examples  of  Play  on  Words  :  33a,  38b, 
62b,  1 12b,  152b. 

2  Devils  Law  Case,  p.  132b. 

3  Duchess  of  Malfi,  p.  89a. 

4  Prolonged  similes  appear,  however,  pp.  6a,  II,  37a,  38b,  77a,  78a, 
79a,  150a.  See  also  the  prolonged  metaphorical  passages  10b,  21a,  32b,  83b- 
84a;  and  similes  continued  in  metaphors  50a,  167b. 

5  Gosse,  Seventeenth  Century  Studies,  p.  47. 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  H 

ologv  so  affected  by  the  earlier  school  of  Lvlv,  Peele,  Greene  and 

Marlowe.1 

Intellect    applied    to    intensely,    even     remorselessly,    tragic 

emotion,  but  subtle,  swift,  and  often  abrupt  in  action  is  the  note 

of    Webster's    style.       Implied   simile,    where    the 

Logical  application   is   left  undefined,  to  bear  itself  home 

J\    „.    ,  with   a  sudden   rush,  is  a  favorite  device.      Bosola, 

his  Mind 

who  is  employed  for  an  assassination,  is  promised 
attendants  to  assist  him  in  his  bloody  deed.  He  refuses  their 
aid  in  these  terms:  "Physicians  that  apply  horse-leeches  to  any 
rank  swelling  used  to  cut  off  their  tails  that  the  blood  may  run 
through  them  the  faster  ;  let  me  have  no  train  when  I  go  to  shed 
blood,  lest  it  make  me  have  a  greater  when  1  ride  to  the  gallows." 
But  the  explicit  simile  is  the  more  common.  Note,  for  example, 
what  effective  use  Vittoria  makes  of  them  in  the  famous  trial 
scene, —  their  effect  being  ironically  heightened  by  the  pompous 
declaration  of  the  lawyer  that  she 

"  Knows  not  her  tropes  nor  figures,  nor  is  perfect 
In  the  academic  derivation 
Of  grammatical  elocution."     (p.  20.) 

Indeed,   oftentimes  Webster's    similes  are  logical     analogies   or 
arguments  rather  than  pictures,  e.  g.  32a  : 

"  Best  natures  do  commit  the  grossest  faults, 
When  they're  given  o'er  to  jealousy,  as  best  wine, 
Dying,  makes  strongest  vinegar." 

Or  22b     "  Condemn  you  me  for  that  the  duke  did  love  me? 
So  you  may  blame  some  fair  and  crystal  river 
For  that  some  melancholic  distracted  man 
Hath  drown'd  himself  in  't." 

The  acrid  nature  of  Webster's  genius  is  everywhere  felt  in 
his    pungent   use    of     similitudes.       The    sardonic    character    of 

'Striking  examples  of  classical  allusion  are  :  31a  ("I  have  drunk  Lethe"), 
169a;  40a,  83b  (Charon's  boat),  38a  ("Like  the  two  slaughtered  sons  of 
(Fdipus"),  48b  Hvpermnestra,  59b  Tantalus,  61a  Hercules,  63b  Vulcan's  net, 
69a  lupiter  and  Danae,  75b  Venus'  doves,  75b  Svrinx,  Daphne,  etc.,  76a  the 
ludgment  of  Paris;  The  Furies,  35a,  48a,  127b,  etc.;  127b  Amazons,  150a 
Briareus,  162b  Colossus,  169a  Rhadamant,  171b  lanus,  173b  Actseon,  172b  Isis. 
See  also:  .Fsop  37b,  44a,  133a;  Lucian,  etc.,  48a;  Pliny  ool>;  lasso  78a; 
Homer  13a,  30a,  32a;   Fortune's  wheel  26b,  66b,  83a. 


78  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Flamineo  in  The  White  Devil  \&  heightened  by  the  irony  of  his 
incessant  similes.  So  in  The  Duchess  of  Malfi  Antonio's  rather 
colorless  virtues  are  artfully  depicted  through  his  fondness  for 
sententious  comparisons. 

Metaphorical    ideas    concentrated    into    a   burning    word    or 
phrase  are  not  uncommon  in  Webster  and  bear  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  similar  strokes  in  Tourneur  :    e.    g.   8oa, 

"Your  direction  shall  lead  me  by  the  hand;"  S^b, 
Comparisons  J 

"I  am  full  of  daggers;"  ioob,  "I  hold  my  weary 
soul  in  my  teeth;"  117b,  "the  stale  injury  of  wine"  [insults 
given  in  drink];  74b,  "Her  guilt  treads  on  Hot  burning  coul- 
ters;"1 117b,  "I  reserve  my  rage  to  sit  on  my  sword's  point;" 
cf.  S8a,  "riot  begins  to  sit  on  thy  forehead;"  125b,  "lock'd 
your  poniard  in  my  heart;"  169a,  "His  memory  to  virtue  and 
good  men  Is  still  carousing  Lethe."  The  poignant  intensity, 
the  strange  and  cogent  applicability,  of  Webster's  figures  startle 
us  at  every  turn.  All  these  effects  can  be  illustrated  only  by  ref- 
erence to  the  list  of  tropes  cited  below  ("Range  and  Sources  of 
Imagery"). 

In  such   a  tragic  and   fearful  world   as   Webster  creates  the 
ethical  preoccupation  of  his   mind,  morbid   and  excessive   as   its 

quality   often   is,  cannot   but    be    prominent   at  all 

The  Persist- 

.,    „.,_,  .    ,      points.2       Ouestions    of     fate,    salvation,    sin    and 
ently  Ethical       1  ^  »  > 

Motive  repentance  are  constantly  reflected  in  his  imagery  : 

97b:     "Security  some  men  call  the  suburbs  of  hell, 
Only  a  dead  wall  between." 

99a:      "Servant.      Where  are  you,  sir  ? 

Antonio  [dying].     Very  near  my  home." 

101b:      " Bosola.     Mine  is  another  voyage.      [Dies]." 

131a:  "Such  a  guilt  as  would  have  lain 

Howling  forever  at  your  wounded  heart 
And  rose  with  you  to  judgment." 

cf.  47b  :  "  Millions  are  now  in  graves,  which  last  dav 
Like  mandrakes  shall  rise  shrieking." 

1  Cf.  Tourneur,  II  51. 

aAs  Lowell  remarks  (Old  Eng.  Dram.,  69),  Webster,' like  Chapman,  is  fond 
of  metaphysical  apothegms. 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  79 

And  see  the  references  under  "Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc." 
(p.  117  below).  The  penchant  of  his  mind  for  images  of  death 
and  the  grave,  so  often  remarked  upon,1  is  largely  a  part  of  the 
same  thing,  save  that  it  more  distinctly  emphasizes  the  morbid 
quality  of  his  genius. - 

Hyperbole,  except  of  a  purely  dramatic  sort,  is  infrequent  in 
Webster.3  Akin  to  his  metaphysical  predilection  is  his  fondness 
Sententious-  for  sententious  figures.  These  appear  especially  as 
ness  exit  lines  or  ending  couplets:  e.  g.  18a: 

"  Both  flowers  and  weeds  spring  when  the  sun  is  warm, 
And  great  men  do  great  good  or  else  great  harm"    (cf.  32a). 

27b  :       "Your  flax  soon  kindles,  soon  is  out  again  ; 

But  gold  slow  heats,  and  long  will  hot  remain." 

Cf.  also  36a,  39a,  76b,  82a,  97b,  100b,  etc. 

Proverbial   phrases   also  are   not  uncommon.4     There  is  the 

usual    amount    of    formal    personification    in    Webster,   skilfully 

managed  for  dramatic  effect;    e.  g.    12b:    "Lust 

Person  lfir/i- 

carries  her  sharp   whip  At   her   own   girdle;"   77a 

(Apologue  of  Reputation,  Love  and  Death);  91b 

"Sacred   innocence,   that    sweetly  sleeps  On   turtles'  feathers"; 

156a:     "O  Rome,  thou'rt  grown  a  most  unnatural  mother 
To  those  have  held  thee  by  the  golden  locks 
From  sinking  into  ruin." 

Cf.  also  40b,  48,  88a,  100a,  108a,  117b,  152a,  174b,  178a. 

1 E.  g.  by  Taine,  Eng.  Lit.  Bk.  II,  c.  II,  Sect.  VI  ("  A  sombre  man,  whose 
thoughts  seem  incessantly  to  be  haunting  tombs  and  charnel-houses");  so  also 
J.  A.  Symonds,  Introd.  to  Ed.  of  Webster  and  Tourneur  (Mermaid  Ser.),  p. 
xxii;  Dyce,  Introd.  to  Ed.  of  Webster,  p.  xv,  and  others. 

»See  the  examples  cited  below,  p.  119.  See  especially  the  series  of  com- 
parisons, p.  21a:  also  37a  (simile  of  the  rack),  135b  ("to  weave  seaming-lace 
With  the  bones  of  their  husbands  that  were  long  since  buried  "),  139a.  Note 
also  the  references  p.  87  under  "Medical." 

3  A  few  striking  examples  occur:  15a  ("  Hell  to  my  affliction  Is  mere  snow- 
water"), 31b,  73b,  77a,  90a  ("Other  sins  only  speak;  murder  shrieks  out  ;  The 
element  of  water  moistens  the  earth,  But  blood  flies  upwards  and  bedews  the 
heavens"),  91a,  118b,  etc. 

<E.  g.  135a,  136a,  143a,  162b,  etc. 


8o  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Webster  not  infrequently  repeats  tropes  and  ideas,  some- 
Trick  of  Self-  times  verbatim,  in  different  plays.,'  Numerous 
Repetition  examples  will  be  seen  below. 

Finally  it  should  be^  noted  that  Appius  and  Virginia  differs 
largely  from  the  other  plays  in  diction  and  figure.  It  is  more 
rhetorical  and  declamatory,  it  contains  fewer  striking  and  orig- 
inal similitudes;  and  with  a  sort  of  dramatic  propriety  its  lan- 
guage is  more  latinized  and  conventional.  The  attempt  is 
obviously  in  another  vein  than  the  Italianate  tragedies  of  The 
White  Devil  and  The  Duchess  of  Malfi. 

RANGE  AND  SOURCES  OF   IMAGERY. 

Mr.  Churton  Collins1  remarks  upon  "that  quick  analogical 
instinct  which  loads  'Vittoria  Corombona'  and  'The  Duchess  of 
Malfi'  with  wide-ranging  imagery,  metaphor,  and  simile."  And 
Webster's  range  is  wide,  although  the  incisive  emphasis  and 
effectiveness  and  the  freedom  from  conventionality  of  most  of 
his  figurative  language  is  such  that  we  recognize  more  readily  his 
range  and  force  than  we  do  in  the  case  of  more  colorless  writers. 

Inanimate  nature  does  not  play  so  much  of  a  part  in  his 
metaphors  and  similes  as  does  animate  nature,  while  the  pre- 
dominance of  allusions  to  human  life  and  interests  is  striking 
evidence  of  the  departure  of  tragic  writing  from  the  more 
purely  poetic  traditions  of  the  pre-Shaksperian  school. 

NATURE.  Aspects  of  the  Sky,  the  Elements,  etc.:  Heavens, 
65b  ("may  our  sweet  affections,  like  the  spheres,  Be  still  in 
motion,"  etc.);  Sun  and  Sunshine,  35b  ("In  all  the  weary  min- 
utes of  my  life,  Day  ne'er  broke  up  till  now"),  ma,  149b  ("See 
how  your  kindred  and  your  friends  are  muster'd  To  warm  them 
at  your  sunshine");  Stars,  5b  ("fore-deeming  you  An  idle 
meteor"),  cf.  40b,  48a  ("This  thy  death  Shall  make  me  like  a 
blazing  ominous  star"),  7b,  49b;  Eclipse,  76b,  144b;  Clouds, 
108b,  nob,  ("this  court  mist"),  170a,  122a,  150b,  151b,  34b, 
88b  ("Mist  of  error");  Shadow  137b,  140a,  150a,  155b;  Thun- 
der 5a,  12b,  27b;  Lightning  6b  ("prompt  as  lightning"),  so 
71b,  82a  ("You  see  what  power  Lightens  in  great  men's  breath  ") 

1  In  the  introduction  to  his  edition  of  Tourneur,  p.  xlii. 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  81 

164b  ("This  vour  plot  shall  burst  about  your  ears  Like  thunder- 
bolts"); Storms,  Showers,  etc.,  35a,  ma  (''Crying  as  an  April 
shower  i'  the  sunshine"),  10b  (storm),  34b,  &8b  ("Their  death  a 
hideous  storm  of  terror").  142b,  65b  (tempest),  so  72b,  74a, 
[35a,  159a,  160b,  13b   (whirlwind),  31a,  82b: 

"Like  to  calm  weather 
At  sea  before  a  tempest,  false  hearts  speak  fair 
To  those  thev  intend  most  mischief." 

Similarly  161b,  50a,  62b:  ("What  follows?  never  rained  such 
showers  as  these  Without  thunderbolts  i'  the  tail  of  them;  whose 
throat  must  I  cut?");  155b  (hail);  Earthquakes  9b,  177a;  Whirl- 
pool 72b;  Fire  44b,  S6a  (the  fire  of  revenge),  97a,  135a  ("no 
more  mercy  Than  ruinous  fires  in  great  tempests"),  139b  (wild 
fire  in  the  blood),  158a  (the  fire  of  sedition),  169b,  177b;  Heat 
and  Cold  22b  ("My  frosty  answer"),  70a  (freeze),  97a  (ice),  179b 
("This  sight  hath  .  .  .  Ic'd  all  my  blood");  32a  ("Your 
good  heart  gathers  like  a  snowball,  Now  your  affection's  cold"); 
133b;   Snow  101b,  169b  (snow  of   age),  172a  (laws  writ  in  snow). 

Seasons  :  109a  (Spring  of  youth),  107a  (the  springtide),  109a 
("with  me  'Tis  fall  o'  the  leaf"),  149b  ("your  stormy  winter"), 
21a,  169b  (winter  of  age). 

Waters,  Sea,   etc.:     19a   (like   grasping  water),   143b  (tide  of 

fortune),  1 18a  : 

"  I  am  pour'd  out 
Like  water!  the  greatest  rivers  i'  the  world 
Are  lost  in  the  sea,  and  so  am  I." 

1 1  a  ("  As  rivers  to  find  out  the  ocean  "),  22b, 

26a:  "let  the  stiginatic  wrinkles  in  thy  face, 

Like  to  the  boisterous  waves  in  a  rough  tide, 

One  still  overtake  another." 

32a   ("  Now  the  tide's  turn'd,  the  vessel's  come  about  "), 

32a:  "The  sea's  more  rough  and  raging  than  calm  rivers, 
But  not  so  sweet  nor  wholesome.  A  quiet  woman 
Is  a  still  water  under  a  great  bridge, 

A  man  may  ^hoot  her  safely." 

1 
67b:  "  Sav  vou  were  lineallv  descended  from  King  Pepin  .   .   . 

What   of   this?     Search   the   heads   of   the   greatest   rivers  in   the 

world,   vou   shall    find   them    but    bubbles   of  water."     59a    ("  a 


82  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

prince's  court  Is  like  a  common  fountain,"  etc.),  cf.  iob  (Princes 
compared  to  dials);  cf.  79a;  78b  (moisture  drawn  out  of  the  sea, 
returns  to  it). 

Aspects  of  Earth:  64a  (wilderness),  n  (policy  winds  like 
the  crooked  path  to  a  mountain's  top),  27b  ("I'll  stand  Like  a 
safe  valley,  which  low  bends  the  knee  To  some  aspiring  moun- 
tain "),  139b  (mountain  and  valley),  cf.  165b,  151b  (firm  as  the 
earth  and  its  poles),  172b  ("Thou  lov'st  me,  Appius,  as  the 
earth  loves  rain;  Thou  fain  would'st  swallow  me"),  27a  ("What, 
are  you  turn'd  all  marble?"),  36b  ("your  iron  days  "),  60a  (rust), 
96a  ("remove  This  lead  from  off  your  bosom  ");  cf.  77a,  169a 
("False  metals  bear  the  touch,  but  brook  not  fire"),  176a  (Sand; 
shelf);  31a  ("My  loose  thoughts  Scatter  like  quicksilver");  See 
"Adamant"  below,  p.  85. 

Various  :   96a  (flatterers  like  echoes);  Blasted  iob,  ioSb;  Atom 

1 14a. 

The  Vegetable  World :  Trees  6a  (bear  best  fruits,  trans- 
planted), 17a  (elms),  35a  (like  the  yew  tree), 

39a  ("  That  tree  shall  long  time  keep  a  steady  foot, 

Whose  branches  spread  no  wider  than  the  root"), 

38a  (like  a  walnut  tree  cudgelled   for  its   fruit),   59b  (like  plum 

trees),  62a  ("  the  oft  shaking  of  the  cedar  tree  Fastens  it  more 

at  root"),  79a  (like  a  cedar),  66a: 

"  That  we  may  imitate  the  loving  palms, 
Best  emblem  of  a  peaceful  marriage, 
That  never  bore  fruit,  divided."     (Cf.  Dyce's  note.) 

83a  ("My  laurel  is  all  withered"). 

1 20a  ("  Yield  no  more  light  Than  rotten  trees  which  shine  in  the 
night"),  151b  (twig  and  branches),  159a  (branches),  167b  (the 
willow  yields  to  the  storm;  the  oak  is  overthrown);  178a  (To  fall 
like  a  rotted  tree);  Vine  29b,  17a  : 

"Like  mistletoe  on  sear  elms  spent  by  weather, 
Let  him  cleave  to  her,  and  both  rot  together." 

cf.  122b  ("  Wind  about  a  man  like  rotten  ivy");  Leaf  15  7a  (aspen 
leaf);  Roots  70b  (to  pull  up  by  the  roots);  Flowers  19a  ("When 
a°-e  shall  turn  thee  White  as  a  blooming  hawthorn  "),  82b  ("  here's 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  83 

another  pitfall  that's  strew'd  o'er  With  roses  ")j  nib  ("  Kiss  that 
tear  from  her  lip;  you'll  find  the  rose  The  sweeter  for  the  dew"), 
142b  (Man's  life  like  that  of  flowers);  Mushroom  25b,  so  133a; 
Fruit  137b  (''take  from  me  fortv  years,  And  I  was  such  a  summer 
fruit  as  this"),  138b  (the  bitter  fruit  of  love);  20b,  47a  ("I'll  stop 
your  throat  With  winter-plums"). 

The  Animal  World  proportionately  appears  very  frequently 
among  Webster's  figures.  Ben  Jonson, —  writing  mostly  in 
comedy,  however,  while  Webster's  genius  is  tragic  and  romantic, 
—  alone  in  our  list  exceeds  this  proportion. 

Fish,  etc.:  81a  ("he  lifts  up's  nose,  like  a  foul  porpoise 
before  a  storm"),  83b-84  (fable  of  the  salmon  and  the  dog-fish), 
107b  ("whiles  he  hopes  to  catch  a  gilt-head,  He  may  draw  up  a 
gudgeon  "),  63b  (like  the  crab  which  goes  backward). 

Reptiles  :  11a  ("The  way  ascends  not  straight,  but  imitates 
The  subtle  foldings  of  a  winter's  snake  "),  1 2a  ("  Repentance  then 
will  follow  like  the  sting  Plac'd  in  the  adder's  tail  "),  43b  ("the 
bed  of  snakes  is  broke"),  70b  (snake),  85b  (vipers),  172a  ("Thy 
violent  lust  Shall,  like  the  biting  of  the  envenom'd  aspic,  Steal 
thee  to  hell"),  Toad  16a  (cf.  61a),  Cameleon  166b;  Tortoise 
27b,  31b. 

Insects:   27b  ("Treason,  like  spiders  weaving  nets  for  flies 
By  her  foul  work  is  found,  and  in  it  dies"),  61b  (the  law  like  a 
spider's    web),   113b  ("entangle    themselves  In  their  own   work 
like  spiders  "). 

36a:    "Glories,  like  glowworms,  afar  off  shine  bright, 

But  look'd  to  near,  have  neither  heat  nor  light." 

So  88a  (verbatim),  similarly  133a;  60a  (like  moths  in  cloth);  cf. 
153b  ("base  moth-eaten  peace");1  78b  ("these  lice,"  i.  e.,  para- 
sites); 85b  : 

"  Things  being  at  the  worst  begin  to  mend  ;  the  bee 
When  he  hath  shot  his  sting  into  your  hand, 
May  then  play  with  your  eyelid." 

110a  C  For  women's  resolutions  in  such  deeds, 

Like  bees,  light  oft  on  flowers,  and  oft  on  weeds.") 

'Cf.  Tourneur,  II  36. 


84  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

1 68b  ("  I  am  an  ant,  a  gnat,  a  worm,"  etc.);  9a  (silkworm); 
Flies  1 14a. 

Birds  :  38b  (fowl);  93b  ("  Eagles  commonly  fly  alone  ;  they 
are  crows,  daws,  and  starlings  that  flock  together");  26a  (raven), 
so  41a,  44b,  144b;  crow  133a;  39b  (screech  owl),  so  40a,  76b, 
119b;   149b: 

"  For  some  suspect  of  treason,  all  these  swallows 
Would  fly  your  stormy  winter  ;  not  one  sing  : 
Their  music  is  the  summer  and  the  spring." 

46a  ("  We  think  cag'd  birds  sing,  when  indeed  they  cry  "),  86b 
("  The  robin-red-breast  and  the  nightingale  Never  live  long  in 
cages  "),  88a  (simile  of  the  lark  in  cage,  5  11.),  cf.  7a,  83b  (birds 
allured  to  the  net);   76b  (to  clip  wings),  49a: 

"  O  your  gentle  pity! 
I  have  seen  a  blackbird  that  would  sooner  fly 
To  a  man's  bosom,  than  to  stay  the  gripe 
Of  the  fierce  sparrow-hawk." 

See  also  "Hawking"  below,  p.  89;  59b  ("I  will  thrive  some 
way;  blackbirds  fatten  best  in  hard  weather");  64b  ("like  a 
taught  starling") ;  82a  ("buntings"  depart  as  soon  as  fledged) ; 
127b  (doves);  13b  ("Forward  lapwing!  He  flies  with  the  shell 
on's  head");1  150b  ("Excellent  lapwing!  .  .  .  He  sings  and 
beats  his  wings  far  from  his  nest  ")  ;  133a  ("this  poor  thing  With- 
out a  name,  this  cuckoo  hatch'd  i'  the  nest  Of  a  hedge-sparrow  !  "), 
so  171b;  151a  ("never  did  vou  see  'Mongst  quails  or  cocks  in 
fight  a  bloodier  heel  Than  that  vour  brother  strikes  with");  44a 
(fable  of  the  peacock  and  the  eagle). 

Wild  Animals:  177b  (lion-taming),  12b  (lion),  83a  (tiger), 
158a;  73a  ("excellent  hyena");  176a  ("Never  did  bear-whelp, 
tumbling  down  a  hill,  With  more  art  shrink  his  head  betwixt  his 
claws  Than  I  will  work  my  safety"),  84b  ("Where  are  vour 
cubs?") ;  5a  ("Your  wolf  no  longer  seems  to  be  a  wolf  Than  when 
she's  hungry"),  22b,  30b,  37b  (holding  a  wolf  bv  the  ears),  40b, 
44b,  76b,  90a;  94b  (fox),  81a,  48a,  165a;  136b  ("An  old  hunted 
hare;  She  has  all  her  doubles"),  26a,  31b,  100b;  113b  (monkeys); 
157a  ("You  rough  porcupine,  ha!     Do  vou  bristle,  do  vou  shoot 

1  Cf.  Hamlet,  V  ii  180  and  notes. 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  85 

vour  quills,  vou  rogue?");  176a  ("I  have  learnt  with  the  wise 
hedgehog,  To  stop  my  cave  that  way  the  tempest  drives");  95b 
("like  the  mice  That  forsake  falling  houses"),  74a  ("he  seems  to 
sleep  The  tempest  out,  as  dormice  do  in  winter"),  142a;  70a 
("This  mole  does  undermine  me");  31b  (''be  not  like  A  ferret, 
to  let  go  vour  hold  with  blowing") ;  11b  (pole-cats). 

Domestic  Animals  :  Horse  160b  ("  Let  the  young  man  play 
still  upon  the  bit")  ;  7a  ("Call  his  wit  in  question,  you  shall  find 
it  Merely  an  ass  in's  foot  cloth");  6a  (like  shorn  sheep  to  the 
slaughter):  Dogs  7b  ("Let  her  not  go  to  church,  but  like  a 
hound  In  lvam  [=  leash]  at  your  heels  "),  9b,  22a  ("  Cowardly 
dogs  bark  loudest"),  34b  ("  Like  dogs  that  once  get  blood,  they'll 
ever  kill"),  37b  (to  unkennel).  49a  ("Fate's  a  spaniel,  We  cannot 
beat  it  from  us"),  153a  ("  Make  vou  us  dogs,  yet  not  allow  us 
bones?"),  160b,  84a  ("Like  English  mastives  that  grow  fierce  with 
tying"),  82b  (bloodhounds),  162b,  37b  (^Esop's  fable  of  the  dog 
and  the  shadow),  71b  ("  thou  wast  watch'd  Like  a  tame  elephant  "). 

Fabulous  Natural  History:  Adamant  9a,  30b  ("We'll  be 
differing  as  two  adamants  ;  The  one  shall  shun  the  other  "), 
83a  ("  Everv  small  thing  draws  a  base  mind  to  fear,  As  the  ada- 
mant draws  iron"),  96a  ("breasts  hoop'd  with  adamant");1  143a; 
20b  (like  apples  of  Sodom),  89a  ("Come,  violent  death,  Serve  for 
mandragora  to  make  me  sleep  !"),  mandrake  19a  (mistletoe  or 
oak  seldom  found  without  a  mandrake  by  it),  47b 

"Millions  are  now  in  graves,  which  at  last  day, 
Like  mandrakes,  shall  rise  shrieking."2 

So  72b  (mandrakes   make   one   mad);   168a  (aconite  as  a  remedy 

against  serpents' stings).      177a: 

"What  devil 
Did  arm  thy  fury  with  the  lion's  paw, 
The  dragon's  tail,  with  the  bull's  double  horn. 
The  cormorant's  beak,  the  cockatrice's  eye, 
The  scorpion's  teeth?" 

76b  (the  basilisk's  eyes),  94b:  8ia("Mark  Prince  Ferdinand; 
A  very  salamander  lives  in's  eve,  To  mock  the  eager  violence  of 

'Cf.  in  Chapman  158  the  same  phrase. 
2Cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet,  IV  iii  47. 


86  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

fire");  172b  ("a  weeping  crocodile  "),  32b  (fable  of  the  crocodile 
and  the  wren  —  in  Herodotus  "the  trochilus")  ;  27b  ("  patient  as 
the  tortoise,  let  this  camel  Stalk  o'er  your  back  unbruis'd")  ;  27b 
(the  lion  and  the  mice);  1  ib  (unicorn's  horn  as  an  antidote)  ; 
12a  (eagles  that  gaze" upon  the  sun) ;  26a  ("like  your  melancholic 
hare,  Feed  after  midnight"),  44a  ("we  now,  like  the  partridge, 
Purge  the  disease  with  laurel");  81a  (foxes  that  carry  fire  in  their 
tails) ;  87a  (We'll  sing,  like  swans,  to  welcome  death");  9a  (the 
silkworm  fasts  one  day  in  three). 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE  :  Arts  and  Learning  :  Chronicle  75a 
("  You  are  Your  own  chronicle  too  much  and  grossly  Flatter  your- 
self"), 128b;  91b  (conscience  a  black  register);  84a  ("I  will  no 
longer  study  in  the  book  Of  another's  heart ")  ;  112a  ("Though  I 
were  to  wait  the  time  That  scholars  do  in  taking  their  degree  In 
the  noble  arts"),  1 19a  ("  Your  patience  has  not  ta'en  the  right 
degree  Of  wearing  scarlet,"  etc.)  ;i42a  (death's  lesson);  Music  73b 
("put  yourself  in  tune"),  71b  (like  a  poor  lute  player),  79b,  115a, 
124a;  Painting  50b  ("I  limned  this  night-piece"),  97a  (to  "lay 
fair  marble  colors"  upon),  127b  ("As  men  report  of  our  best  pic- 
ture makers,  We  love  the  piece  we  are  in  hand  with  better  Than  all 
the  excellent  work  we  have  done  before"),  137b  ("Painting  and 
epitaphs  are  both  alike, —  Thev  flatter  us  and  say  we  have  been 
thus"),  Picture  23a,  61b,  86b. 

Various  Estates  and  Occupations :  38b  (ambassadors),  49b 
("I  shall  welcome  death  As  princes  do  some  great  ambassa 
dors;  I'll  meet  thy  weapon  half  way");  96a  (secretary);  155a 
(miser);  162a  (juggler),  28b;  162b  (giant);  47b  (like  ranting 
preachers)  ;  37b  (swear  like  a  falconer,  lie  like  an  almanac 
maker,  smell  of  sweat  like  an  under-tennis-court-keeper),  37b 
("Lovers'  oaths  are  like  mariners'  prayers,  uttered  in  extremity  "), 
112b  (park-keeper),  152b  (stewards),  101b  (friend),  142b  ("is 
not  death  A  hungry  companion?"),  155b,  173a  (attendants), 
155b  (servants),  65a  ("I  have  long  serv'd  virtue,  And  ne'er 
ta'en  wages  of  her");  86b  ("I  am  acquainted  with  sad  misery 
As  the  tann'd  galley  slave  is  with  his  oar"),  18b  (prisoner), 
155b  (jail),  174b;  178a  (grief  a  tell-tale);  110a  (to  do  knight's 
service). 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  87 

Law:  31a  ("executor  To  all  my  sins");'  rub  (livery  and 
seisin),  65b  (debt  and  discharge-"  Quietus  est "),  46a,  120a 
(supersedeas),  123b  (caveat),  152a  ("The  rich  fee-simple  of  Vir- 
ginia's heart").  121a  (false  executors),  173a  (" Virginius.  Thus  I 
surrender  her  into  the  court  Of  all  the  gods.  [Kills  Virginia]"), 
152b  (;•  Yon  great  star-chamber  ;"),a  39b  (lease  of  life),  21a. 

Medical:  16a  ("Look,  his  eye's  bloodshed  [bloodshot?],  like 
a  needle  a  chirurgeon  stitcheth  a  wound  with"),  60a  ("places 
in  the  court  are  but  like  beds  in  the  hospital,  where  this  man's 
head  lies  at  that  man's  foot,  and  so  lower  and  lower"),  13b 
(" Francisco  de  Medici  .  .  .  Come,  you  and  I  are  friends.  Bra- 
chiano.  Most  wishedly :  Like  bones,  which,  broke  in  sunder, 
and  well  set.  Knit  the  more  strongly  "),  31a  ("the  corrupted  limb 
cut  off";,  47b  ("These  are  two  cupping  glasses  [snowing  pistols] 
that  shall  draw  All  mv  infected  blood  out"),  62a,  179a  ("I'll 
fetch  that  shall  anatomize  his  sin"),  cf.  21a  ("dead  bodies  .  .  . 
wrought  upon  by  surgeons"),  65a  (ambition  a  madness,  not  kept 
in  chains,  but  in  fair  lodgings);  Physicians  9b  ("You  area 
sweet  physician  "),  82a  ("physicians  thus,  With  their  hands  full  of 
money,  use  to  give  o'er  Their  patients"),  97a  (as  physicians 
applying  horse-leeches,  cut  off  their  tails),  119a  ("Are  you  such  a 
leech  For  patience?"),  120a  ("these  graves  and  vaults,  Which  oft 
do  hide  physicians'  faults");  Medicines  5b  (physic),  11b  (uni- 
corn's horn  as  antidote),  26a  ("Physicians  that  cure  poisons,  still 
do  work  With  counter-poisons;"  so  168a),  22b  (gilded  pills;  so 
84a),  23b  (pills),  so  47b;  Diseases  95b  ("Yond's  mv  lingering 
consumption"),  125b.  71b  (wound  in  the  heart,  etc.),  8a  (Jealousy 
like  the  jaundice),  22a  (palsy  of  fear),  24b,  31a,  73b,  31b  ("What 
a  damn'd  imposthume  is  a  woman's  will !"),  81a  ("  Methinks  her 
fault  and  beauty,  Blended  together,  show  like  leprosv,  The  whiter, 
the  fouler"),  98a  (ague),  99b  ("  Pleasure  of  life,  what  is't?  Only 
the  good  hours  Of  an  ague"),  149b,  166a  (plague),  91a. 

Agriculture:  22b  (vines  manured  with  blood);  Scarecrow 
38a;  127b  (the  harvest-home  of  love),  155b  ("We  spread  the  earth 
like  ....  new  reaped   corn")  ;   Sow  and  reap  38b,  42b  (harvest), 

1  Cf.  Tourneur   II  41. 
2Cf.  Tourneur,  I   139. 


88  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

108a  ("Virtue  is  ever  sowing  of  her  seeds"),  37a  (pigeons  and 
sparrows  in  harvest  time),  63a  (pasture). 

Trades  and  Practical  Arts:  6b  (like  a  gilder  poisoned  with 
his  quicksilver),  25a  ("We  endure  the  strokes  like  anvils"), 
cf.  80a;  Weaving  63b;  Dyeing  87a  (a  knave  ingrain);  Glass 
71b;  100b  ("Whether  we  fall  by  ambition,  blood  or  lust,  Like 
diamonds,  we  are  cut  with  our  own  dust");  61b  ("You  play  the 
wire-drawer"),  83a  (like  the  repairing  of  a  clock  or  watch),  75b 
("Laboring  men  Count  the  clock  oftenest  ....  Are  glad  when 
their  task's  ended"),  31b  ("Will  any  mercer  take  another's  ware 
When  once  'tis  tous'd  and  sullied?"),  45b  ("Now  the  wares  are 
gone,  we  may  shut  up  shop"),  65a  (tradesmen  and  their  wiles), 
1 08a  (exchange  at  dear  rate),  142a  ("The  world  and  I  have  not 
made  up  our  accounts  yet"),  108a  (voyage  for  a  mine),  154b 
("Rome,  Thou  wilt  pay  use  for  what  thou  dost  forbear"),  48b 
(pawn;  bill  of  sale).     Mine  65a,  108a. 

Ships  and  Sailing:  9a  (shore  from  ship),  13a  ("Should  for- 
tune rend  his  sails  and  split  his  mast"),  37a  (like  ships  which 
seem  great  upon  a  river,  small  upon  the  seas),  37b  (mariner's 
prayers),  121a  ("So  sails  with  fore-winds  stretch'd  do  soonest 
break"),  142a  ("  The  Capuchin.  O,  you  have  a  dangerous  voyage 
to  take.  Romelio.  No  matter,  I  will  be  mine  own  pilot")  ;  32a, 
50a,  73a,  83a  ("Let  us  not  venture  all  this  poor  remainder  In 
one  unlucky  bottom");    143a,  149a  (steer),  167b,  168a,  176b. 

Building:  37a  (Men  like  bricks,  alike,  but  placed  high  or  low 
by  chance) ;  82a  ("Men  cease  to  build  when  the  foundation 
sinks  "),  cf.   145b,  89a  : 

"  I  know  death  hath  ten  thousand  several  doors 
For  men  to  take  their  exits  ;  and  'tis  found 
They  go  on  such  strange  geometrical  hinges, 
You  may  open  them  both  ways." 

113b  ("  As  black  copartiments  show  gold  more  bright "),  153b, 
174b;  63b  ("footsteps "=  stepping  stones);  47a  (the  body  the 
palace  of  the  soul);  window  138a;  151b  ("Trust  my  bosom  To 
be  the  closet  of  your  private  griefs  :  Believe  me,  I  am  uncran- 
nied"),  cf.  79a  (his  breast  a  private  whispering-room);  100b 
("Thou,  which  stood'st  like  a  huge  pyramid,  Begun  upon  a  large 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  89 

and  ample  base,  Shalt  end  in  a  little  point,  a  kind  of  nothing"), 
121a  (pyramids  weakest  at  the  top);  Column  ioSb;   Prop  158b. 

Sports,  Amusements,  etc.;  7  (bowling),  28b  (juggling),  133a 
("he  seems  A  giant  in  a  May-game"),  36b  ("strook  His  soul 
into  the  hazard"),1  99a  ("We  are  merely  the  star's  tennis- 
balls,  struck  and  bandied  Which  way  please  them"),  120b  ("the 
more  spacious  that  the  tennis-court  is,  The  more  large  is  the 
hazard"),  150a  (sprinters  who  before  a  race  wear  shoes  of  lead)  ; 
Riding  44b  and  67b  ;  Archery  20a  ("  I  am  at  the  mark,  sir  :  I  '11 
give  aim  to  you,  And  tell  you  how  near  you  shoot"),  39b  ("One 
arrow's  graz'd  already");  Hawking,  12a,  20a,  30b,  38a,  71b, 
144b.  160b;  Fowling  27b,  37a,  122a;  Hunting  31b,  136b, 
165a;  Dance  (of  life)  169a. 

Domestic  Life:  65b  (as  children  eat  sweetmeats),  so  149b 
(verbatim);  49b  ("I  will  be  waited  on  in  death");  83a  ("1  have 
seen  my  little  boy  oft  scourge  his  top.  And  compar'd  myself 
to  't ;  naught  made  me  e'er  Go  right  but  heaven's  scourge- 
stick");2  Relationship  44b  ("  I  have  heard  grief  named  the  eldest 
child  of  sin"),  so  100b,  cf.  121b,  155b  (twins),  86a  ("Thy  pity  is 
nothing  of  kin  to  thee"),  152b  ("our  mother,  Fair  Rome"),  so 
156a. 

Dress  and  Adornment:  8b  (diamond  and  its  setting), 
24a,  63a,  cf.  100b,  22a  (counterfeit  jewels),  46-47  (jewels),  79a, 
117b,  1 24b,  144b;  29b  ("this  changeable  stuff"),  48b  ("ere  the 
spider  Make  a  thin  curtain  for  your  epitaphs "),  cf.  120a;  81a 
("Doth  she  make  religion  her  riding-hood  To  keep  her  from  the 
sun  and  tempest?  "),  94a  ("  Sorrow  makes  her  look  Like  to  an  oft- 
dy'd  garment"),  62b  ("Your  old  garb  of  melancholy"),  117b 
("You  have  not  apparelled  your  fury  well ")  121a,  140b  (veil), 
95b  ("You  shall  see  me  wind  my  tongue  about  his  heart  Like  a 
skein  of  silk");3    Wear  154a;   Visarded  178b. 

Colloquial  and  Familiar  Images:      8a  (like    images  in   a  basin 

1  Cf.  Henry  l\\\\  263. 

2 See  a  similar  simile  in  Sidney's  Arcadia  (Poems,  ed.  Grosart  II   163): 

"  Grief  only  makes  his  wretched  state  to  see, 
Even  like  a  top,  which  nought  but  whipping  moves." 

3Cf.  Chapman,  94a. 


90  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

of  water,  broken  by  bubbles),  9a  ("  I  will  put  the  breese  in  's 
tail"),  22a  (tell  lies  like  post-boys),  31b  (landlady),  32a 
("Your  little  chimneys  Do  ever  cast  most  smoke!"),  37b  ("like 
a  frighted  dog  with  a  bottle  at  's  tail"),  43b  ("she  simpers  like 
the  suds  A  collier  hath  been  wash'd  in"),  74b  ("he's  a 
mere  stick  of  sugar  candy";  so  115b),  77a  ("You  have'shook 
hands  with  Reputation"),  163a  (a  little-timbered  fellow),  163b 
(clerks  of  the  kitchen),  173b  ("cheese  struck  in  years"),  173b 
("  my  stomach  has  struck  twelve").  Flamineo  in  The  White  Devil 
is  particularly  fond  of  colloquial  comparisons,  which  strangely 
intensify  the  sardonic  irony  of  his  villainy;  e.  g.  8b,  19b,  and 
passim. 

Coarse  and  Repulsive  Images:  5b  (vomit),  5b  (fleabitings), 
78b  (lice),  6a  ("Make  Italian  cut-works  in  their  guts"),  22a 
(to  spit  in  the  wind),  37a  ("I  did  never  wash  my  mouth  with 
mine  own  praise"),  59b  (horseleech),  97a;  Rotten  97a,  153a,  17a; 
Dunghill  25b,  133a,  1 66a,  171a;  5a  ("  Fortune 's  a  right  whore"), 
62a,  23b,  92a,  168b;   Beget  158a. 

The  Body  and  its  Parts:  7b  (the  stars'  eyes),  40b  (rough- 
bearded  comet),  27b  (the  valley  bends  the  knee);  Sleep  109b, 
cf.  nob,  171b;  1 1  ib  (bells  tongue-tied);  Smother  99a,  135a; 
To  swallow  153b. 

The  Senses  and  Appetites:  Food  and  feasting  8b,  17b,  97b, 
88b  ("A  many  hungry  guests  have  fed  upon  me"),  23a,  49b 
("You  are  too  few  to  feed  The  famine  of  our  vengeance"),  155a, 
149b  ("To  make  so  many  bits  of  your  delight"),  25a  (relish  like 
honey);  178a  (odors),  6a  ("  Perfumes  the  more  they  are  chaf'd, 
the  more  they  render  Their  pleasing  scents"),1  so  83a;  47a  ("Sins 
Thrice  candied  o'er"),  so  62b,  115b,  cf.  74b. 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.:  Heaven  64b,  cf.  174b.  Hell 
64b,  42b,  91a,  97b,  169b;  Devil  10a,  21b,  27b,  35a,  41a,  62b, 
65a,  67b,  83b,  98b,  142a,  143b,  166b,  172a,  177a,  etc.  ;  Witch- 
craft and  Conjuring  19a  ("Thou  art  a  soldier,  Follow'st  the 
great  duke,  feed'st  his  victories,  As  witches  do  their  serviceable 
spirits,  Even  with  thy  prodigal  blood"),  63b,  65a,  75a,  81a,  121a; 
Perspective  Glass  30b,  61b;    85a  (an    Italian   superstition);    91a 

1  Similarly  Bacon  (cf.  Dyce's  note  ad  loc). 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  01 

("I  stand  like  one.  That  long  hath  ta'en  a  sweet  and  golden 
dream");  Soul  ioSb;  127a  ("mischiefs,  Are  like  the  visits  of 
Franciscan  friars — They  never  come  to  prey  upon  us  single"); 
Oracles  61b,  92a  (heretic),  65b  ("  I  will  remain  the  constant  sanc- 
tuarv  Of  vour  good  name"),  cf.  172a,  30b: 

••  Thou  hast  led  me,  like  a  heathen  sacrifice, 
With  music  and  with  fatal  yokes  of  flowers, 
To  my  eternal  ruin." 

94a  ("You  are  all  of  you  like  beasts  of  sacrifice"),  47b  ("did 
make  a  flaming  altar  of  my  heart");1  151a  ("one  whose  mind 
Appears  more  like  a  ceremonious  chapel  Full  of  sweet  music, 
than  a  thronging  presence"),  83a  ("  Your  kiss  is  colder  Than  I 
have  seen  a  holv  anchorite  Give  to  a  dead  man's  skull"),  77a 
("be  cased  up,  like  a  holv  relic"),  83a  ("In  the  eternal  church, 
sir,  I  do  hope  we  shall  not  part  thus"). 

Death,  the  Grave,  etc.:  10b,  26a  ("  Misfortune  comes,  like  the 
coroner's  business,  Huddle  upon  huddle";  cf.  127a),  29b  (a  fowl 
"coffin'd  in  a  bak'd  meat  "),  35a  (like  the  yew  tree,  growing  on 
graves),  48b,  50b  ("  My  life  was  a  black  charnel  "),  65b,  77a,  89a, 
90b  ("  You  have  a  pair  of  hearts  are  hollow  graves,  Rotten,  and 
rotting  others"),  96b,  97a,  101a,  120b,  125a,  128b,  135b,  142b, 
166a. 

War:  Tilting  166a;  Siege  27b  ("As  jealous  as  a  town 
besieged"),  152a;  153a,  174a;  27b  ("undermining  more  prevails 
Than  doth  the  cannon  ");  Cannon  25a,  77a  (thy  heart  is  "  a  hol- 
low bullet,  Fill'd  with  unquenchable  wild-fire"),  81a  (to  laugh 
"Like  a  deadly  cannon  That  lightens  ere  it  smokes"),  83b,  91a 
("your  vengeance,  Like  two  chain'd  bullets,  still  goes  arm  in 
arm"):2  Combat  170a,  63b  (like  men  in  battle  under  the  influence 
of  fear),  142b  ("what  is  death?  The  safest  trench  i'  the  world 
to  keep  man  free  From  fortune's  gunshot");  armed  21b,  84b; 
70a  ("Old  friends,  like  old  swords,  still  are  trusted  best"); 
Sheathe  22a. 

The  Stage  and  the  Drama  :     29a  ("  My  tragedy  must  have  some 
idle    mirth    in't,  Flse   it   will    never  pass"),  86b,  85b  ("  1  account 
'  Cf.  Tourneur  I  79. 
So  Heywood  (cf.  Dyce's  note);  cf.  Chapman  170a. 


9 2  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

this  world  a  tedious  theatre,  For  I  do  play  a  part  in't  'gainst 
my  will"),  90a  ("as  we  observe  in  tragedies  That  a  good 
actor  many  times  is  curs'd  For  playing  a  villain's  part  "),  120a  ("  O 
look  the  last  act  be  the  best  i'  the  play,  And  then  rest,  gentle 
bones  "),'  124b  ("Are  not  bad  plays  The  worse  for  their  length?"), 
129a,  101a. 

Miscellaneous:  Melt  101b,  143a,  172a,  179a;  Mirror  61b, 
124b,  149a;  Colors  12a  (black  slander),  18b,  20a,  22b,  40a,  43b, 
46b,  60a,  99a,  165b,  172b,  178b,  179a,  180a;  White  82b;  Poison 
11b,  12a  ("  there's  hemlock  in  thy  breath"),  12b,  15a,  16a,  34a,  40b, 
60a,  63a,  64a,  92b,  96b,  122b,  125b,  134b,  157a,  167b,  168a  (cf.  36b, 
39b,  42a);  Instrument,  Engine,  19a,  48a,  78a,  79b,  121a  ("an 
engine  [that]  shall  weigh  up  my  losses,  Were  they  sunk  as  low 
as  hell"),  152a;  Coin,  Counterfeit,  etc.,  21a,  133a;  Painted  6a 
("Leave  your  painted  comforts  "),  20b,  32a,  91a,  133a;  Drown 
34a,  142b;  35b  ("  He  sounds  my  depth  thus  with  a  golden  plum- 
met"),  83a;  Climbing  178b;  121b  ("Sin  and  shame  are  ever  tied 
together  ");  98a  ("  a  face  folded  in  sorrow  ")  cf.  27a;  48a  ("  I  am 
caught  with  a  springe  ");  Watch  69a  (like  a  false  rusty  watch);  to 
Sift  107b;  Weight  82a,  168a;  Balance  179b. 

Tragedy  is   ubiquitous    in   Webster.      In   his  own   phrase,   he 

limns  night-pieces,2  and,  wide  as  is  his  range  of  imagery,  almost 

everything  is   hung   in    black.     Take  for  instance 

any  section  in  the  above  list,  for  example  "  Insects," 

and  observe  the  moral  connotation  of  the  images  cited.     Spiders 

are  the   emblems   of  treason    27b,  or  evil  plots  113b,  or  of  the 

entanglements   of    the   law;    glowworms   are    the  type    of    false 

glories  36a,  88a,  or  false  honor  133a;  moths  are  types  of  destruc- 

tiveness  60a,  153b;  parasites  are  like  lice  78b;  bees 
His  Morbid  ,  0   ,  , 

_     ...  are  treacherous  85b,  or  uncertain  of  purpose  110a; 

ants,    gnats,    worms,    etc.,    are    representatives    of 

abjectness  168b;  the  silkworm's  fabulous  sagacitvand  industry  is 

used   to   point  a  gross   meaning  9a;   flies  however  are  nothing 

worse  than  emblems  of  smallness  114a.     Such  is  Webster's  world! 

For  results  similar,  if  somewhat  less  striking,  would  follow  were 

1  Cf.  Jonson,  II  379a. 
^  P.  50b. 


JOHN  WEBSTER.  93 

we  to  analyze  the  other  fields  from  which  he  draws  his  illustra- 
tions. Among  stars,  meteors  are  most  used.  There  are  two 
tropes  referring  to  showers,  and  some  twelve  to  storms  and  tem- 
pests; earthquakes,  hail,  whirlpools  and  fire,  appear  prominently. 
Nature  is  not  idyllic  in  Webster.  Animal  life,  and  especially 
birds,  he  seems  to  have  observed.  But  mankind  was  his  proper 
study.  The  various  arts  and  the  estates  and  occupations  of  life 
are  laid  under  endless  contribution.  Note  as  characteristic  the 
large  number  of  entries  under  the  rubric  "  Medical,"  and  also 
under  "  Subjective  Life." 


GEORGE   CHAPMAN 

1557  ?-i634 


Acted  or  Entered  Published  Pages 

I595_6                         J59S    The  Blind  Beggar  of  Alexandria  1-   21 

1597?                           *599  An  Humorous  Day's  Mirth       -  22-45 

1599  ?  (1603  Fleay)  1605  All  Fools  -----  46-   77 

1598?  (160 1      "  )  1606    The  Gentleman  Usher     -  78-112 

i6o4?(Fleav)           1606  Monsieur  D 'Olive       -         -         -  1 13-139 

1604?       "                  1607   Bussy  D 'Ambois      -          -          -  140-177 

1 606  ?       "                  1 6 1 3    The  Revenge  of  Bussy  D 'Ambois  1 7  8-2 1 3 

1608                              1608  Byron's  Conspiracy            -          -  214-242 
1608                              1608    The  Tragedy  of  Charles,  Duke  of 

Byron         ....  243-274 

1 60 1  ?  (Fleay)            161 1   May-Day  -----  275-306 

1605?       "                   161 2    The  Widozv's   Tears          -          -  307-340 

1608?       "                   1 63 1    The  Tragedy  of  Gesar  and Pomfiey  351-380 


*  In  the  following  lists,  references  to  the  five  tragedies  have  usually  been 
placed  after  those  to  the  comedies,  except  where  similarity  of  the  subject  or  con- 
text has  brought  two  or  more  references  together  without  regard  to  pagination. 


95 


His  Great 

Faults 

Merits 


CHAPMAN. 

Great    faults  counterbalanced  by  great  merits  is  the  judg- 
ment rescued  from  an  inappropriate  application  to  Shakspere,  and 
nowadays  applied  with  a  greater  justice  to   Chap- 
man.1     Not  only  is   this  apparent   in    the  construc- 
Faults  and  ,  "  ,  .  .       ,  ,  ,  , 

tion  and  general  purport  ot  his  plays,  but  also  and 

more  especially  in  his  diction  and  use  of  imagery. 
For  in  these  respects,  while  on  the  one  hand  it  is  true  that 
"  Chapman  abounds  in  splendid  enthusiasms  of  diction,  and  now 
and  then  dilates  our  imaginations  with  suggestions  of  profound 
poetic  depth,"2  yet  at  the  same  time  there  are  to  be  found  in  his 
plays  striking  examples  of  almost  all  the  faults  in  matters  of  dic- 
tion of  that  most  prolific  period.  Hyperbole  of  the  hugest  pre- 
tensions, a  sort  of  grandiose  magniloquence,  which  is  saved  from 
falling  into  bombast  only  by  the  intellectual  passion  which 
inspires  it,  extraordinary  and  fantastic  conceits,  labored  and 
clouded  similes,  incoherence  and  obscurity  of  style,3  and  other 
similar  marks  of  barbarism  are  to  be  found  in  Chapman's  work. 
The  general  manner  of  his  imagery  has  been  summed  up  fully 

and  accurately  by  Mr.  Swinburne:*  "Few  poets  .  .  . 

General  Manner  .  .  ...  ,  ... 

, ,  .    T  have  been  more  unsparing  m  the  use  of  illustration 

of  his  Imagery  ■  ° 

than  Chapman;  he  flings  about  similes  by  the 
handful,  many  of  them  diffuse  and  elaborate  in  expression, 
most  of  them  curiously  thoughtful  and  ingenious,  not  a  few  of 
them  eloquent  and  impressive;  but  in  many  cases  they  tend  rather 
to  distract  the  attention  of  the  reader  than  to  elucidate  the  matter 

1  By  Coleridge  (Miscellanies,  .Esthetic  and  Literary,  p.  289),  by  Lamb 
(Specimens  of  Eng.  Dram.  Poets,  p.  88),  and  others. 

-Lowell.  Works,  I  277. 

3"A  quaint  and  florid  obscurity,  rigid  with  elaborate  rhetoric,  and  tortuous 
with  labyrinthine  illustration"  (Swinburne  on  Chapman,  Encyclopaedia  Britan- 
nica,  9th  ed.). 

4  Introduction  to  Chapman's  Works,  Poems  and  Minor  Translations,  p.  xix. 

97 


98  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

of  his  study."  The  comedies  of  course  differ  in  these  respects 
from  the  tragedies,  being  much  lighter  and  clearer  in  style.  But 
the  characteristic  Chapman,  the  sententious  and  weighty  Chap- 
man, is  found  in  the  tragedies.  Indeed  Chapman  the  playwright 
has  three  distinct  styles  :  (i)  What  may  be  termed  his  High  Trag- 
edy   Style,    an    exceedingly  undramatic    style,   in 

is       ree  which  there  is  a  noticeable  straining  after  the  epic 

Styles  &,  r 

manner.  The  speeches  are  long  and  often  rhetor- 
ical, description  and  narration  are  frequently  used,1  the  style  is 
exalted,  and  there  are  many  prolonged  or  so-called  Homeric 
similes, —  though  of  course  Chapman  can  never  let  himself  down 
to  the  quiet  pitch  and  simple  manner  of  the  genuinely  Homeric 
simile.  (2)  His  Comedy  Style.  Here  the  movement  is  more 
dramatic  and  more  colloquial,  and  the  metaphors  and  similes 
are  shorter  and  less  prominent.  (3)  Finally,  admitting 
Alphonsus  and  Revenge  for  Honor  into  the  list  of  his  works,  we 
should  have  to  distinguish  his  Later  Tragedy  Style,  in  which 
few  of  the  characteristics  observable  in  his  High  Tragedy  Style 
appear.  There  is  little  metaphor  and  simile,  the  syntax  is  less 
involved,  and  the  diction  generally  is  much  less  abstract  and 
obscure. 

The  difficulty  and  obscurity  of  Chapman's  style  is  not  helped 
by  the  manner  of  his  figurative  language.  Chapman's  imagery 
in  some  respects  is  the  very  opposite  of  Webster's.  Chapman  is 
abstract  and  often  vague,"  Webster  is  concrete,  vivid,  and  intense; 
Chapman  is  inclined  to  amplification,3  Webster  to  contraction; 
Chapman  is  epical,  Webster  dramatic;  both  however  are  highly 
literary  and  self-conscious  in  their  methods  of  workmanship,  and 

'See  for  a  striking  example  the  Description  of  the  Duel  in  Act  II,  Sc.  1  of 
Bussy  UAmbois  (pp.  147-148). 

2 "  Often  we  feel  his  meaning,  rather  than  apprehend  it.  The  imagery 
has  the  indefiniteness  of  distant  objects  seen  by  moonlight"  (Whipple,  Lit.  of 
Age  of  Eliz.,  p.  151). 

3  Some  of  the  more  striking  prolonged  similes  are  to  be  found  at  pp.  48b, 
53b,  122b,  126,  140a,  140b,  148a,  150a,  162,  171b,  172a,  175,  176,  185,  189a, 
198b,  202a,  204a,  207b,  212b,  219b,  226,  227a,  231a,  239b,  262b,  270a,  352a, 
354a,  359b.  Prolonged  metaphorical  passages:  pp.  47,  87,  142,  154,  162,  169, 
272,  274,  293,  323,  325. 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  99 

both  are  sententious1  and  moral  in  temperament  and  in   the  fun- 
damental predilection  of  their  genius. 

Chapman's   method    in   tragedy   was    epical    and    highly    lit- 
erary.    His  tragedies  accordingly  are  full  of  classical  and  liter- 
ary allusions  and  of  historical  parallels  and  exam- 
Classical  and      pjes      Homer2  naturally  supplies  a  large  part   of 

„.  the  classical  allusion,  although  by  no  means  all.  ' 

ment  in  Chap-  °       J 

man  Indeed  Chapman  is  full  of  literary  echoes,  which 

may  be  considered  a  note  of  his  style.  Even  the 
comedies  contain  many  classical  and  literary  allusions,  including 
various  parodies  and  quotations.4  In  respect  to  the  manner  of 
his  classical  allusions  Chapman  has  entirely  escaped  from  the 
facile  and  superficial  mythology  of  Greene  and  Peele.  His  clas- 
sicisms are  not  excessive,  although  occasionally  from  the  dramatic 
point  of  view  Chapman  is  somewhat  pedantic  in  his  allusions. 
But  within  the  limits  of  his  peculiar  vein  of  narrative  and  gnomic 
tragic  writing,  they  are  often  used  with  force  and  occasionally 
with  veiled  and  subtle  effect.  Tamyra's  appeal  to  Montsurry,5 
for  example,  is  aptly  enforced  by  the  classical  image  employed  : 

"Oh,  kill  me,  kill  me; 
Dear  husband,  be  not  crueller  than  death  ; 
You  have  beheld  some  Gorgon  ;  feel,  oh  feel 
How  you  are  turned  to  stone." 
Quite   in   Chapman's  more  violent    vein,   again,    but    not    so 
obvious,  is  the  allusion  in  Tamyra's  earlier  speech  : 

'"He  is  the  most  sententious  of  our  poets."  (Lowell,  Old  Eng.  Dram.,  p. 
91)  :  This  appears  not  only  in  his  great  wealth  of  gnomic  verses,  but  also  in  his 
fondness  for  sententious  figures.  His  similes  often  have  a  moralizing  turn  ;  he 
is  fond  of  fable  (e.  g.  48b,  146,  185b,  189a,  235b);  and  proverbs  and  similar 
figures  are  not  infrequent  (e.  g.  72a  :  "extreme  diseases  Ask  extreme  reme- 
dies;" 161a  to  swim  against  the  stream,  cf.  244a;  188b  "  Great  vessels  into  less 
are  emptied  never;"  197b  "  Labor  with  iron  flails,  to  thresh  down  feathers,  Flit- 
ting in  air;"  259b  "This  nail  is  driven  already  past  the  head  ;  cf  265a,  etc.). 

aSee  the  references  to  Homer,  4a,  190a,  196a,  204a,  etc. 

3  For  example  note  140b  (Pindar's  "dream  of  a  shadow"),  188a  (quotation 
from  the  Antigone  of  Sophocles),  203a  ("this  Senecal  man  "),  80b  (Plautus),  etc. 

*  K.  g.  20b  (from  Marlowe),  22b  ("like  an  old  king  in  an  old-fashion  play"), 
133a  (Parody on  Spenser's  Shep.  Cal.),  and  the  (so  far  as  I  know)  unidentified 
parodies  pp.  80b,  281b,  296a. 

5  Bussy  if  A  wiois,  V  i  (p.  170b)  ;  cf  Greene,  236a. 


ioo  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

"Come,  bring  me  to  him  ;'  I  will  tell  the  serpent 
Even  to  his  venom'd  teeth,  from  whose  cursed  seed 
A  pitch'd  field  starts  up  'twixt  my  lord  and  me, 
That  his  throat  lies."3 

The  strange  and  bizarre  predominate  in  Chapman's  imagery. 

At  times  it  is  even  the  grotesque.     In  reading  his  plays  we  are 

repeatedly  confronted  with  the  most  extraordinary 
Excesses  of  his 
.    .  conceptions,  which  by  their  very  extravagance  rise 

above  the  level   of  mere  conceits.     Passion   of    a 

certain    high    sort,    as   well    as    imagination,    is    present    in    his 

tragedies,  but  it  is  a  passion  that  cannot  abstain  from  violence  at 

every  crisis.     The  jealous  Montsurry3  cries  out, 

"  I  know  not  how  I  fare  ;  a  sudden  night 
Flows  through  my  entrails,  and  a  headlong  chaos 
Murmurs  within  me.  which  I  must  digest." 

The  following  is  from  Bussy's  dying  speech  :4 

■Act  IV,  Sc.  i  (p.  165a). 

2  Other  striking  classical  allusions  are  as  follows  :  The  Trojan  War,  etc., 
55a,  58b  ("to  play  Menelaus  "),  147b,  161b  (to  "quarrel  with  sheep  and  run  as 
mad  as  Ajax"),  223a,  244a,  285a,  etc.  ;  Hero  and  Leander  5b;  to  throw  in  a  ball 
of  debate  62b,  217a,  223a;  Various  Gods  12a,  64b,  157a,  etc.;  Alcides  or  Her- 
cules 137a,  281b,  320b,  334b,  176a,  190b,  218b  ("like  the  shaft  Shot  at  the  sun 
by  angry  Hercules "),  224b,  251a,  49b  ("like  the  dragon  to  the  Hesperian 
fruit")  ;  69b  ("sing  to  me  no  more,  syren""),  95b,  169b,  285a,  (cf.  243b,  244a); 
Medea  nob,  201a;  Semele  218b;  Cyclops  229a  ;  Helicon  292a,  330a,  cf.  224b  ; 
Actreon  and  Diana  313a;  Gordian  knot  292a,  165b;  Hermean  rod  157a; 
Lernean  fen  162a;  Augean  stable  165a;  ^Ftna  83a,  157b,  208a;  Pandora's 
box  166a;  Occasion  and  her  forelock  123a,  293a;  The  Wheel  of  Fortune  142a, 
152a.  Four  or  five  lines  finally  may  be  quoted  as  an  example  of  Chapman's  more 
poetical  manner  (p.  175a)  : 

"  Haste  thee  where  the  grey-eyed  morn  perfumes 
Her  rosv  chariot  with  Sabaean  spices, 
Fly,  where  the  evening  from  th'  Iberian  vales 
Takes  on  her  swarthy  shoulders  Hecate, 
Crown'd  with  a  grove  of  oaks." 

Historical  allusion  is  very  frequent  in  Chapman.  A  few  examples  are: 
1 88a  (Brutus  and  Caesar),  196b  (Pompey),  218a  (Catiline),  189a  ("  Domitian- 
like"),  229a  (Curtius),  266b  (Manlius),  258  (Alexander  and  his  civilizing 
mission). 

3  Bussy  DAmbois,  IV  i  (p.  164b). 

4  Id.  V  i  (p.  175b). 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  101 

"  My  sun  is  turn'd  to  blood,  in  whose  red  beams 
Pindus  and  Ossa  hid  in  drifts  of  .snow, 
Laid  on  my  heart  and  liver,  from  their  veins 
Melt  like  two  hungry  torrents,  eating  rocks 
Into  the  ocean  of  all  human  life, 
And  make  it  bitter,  only  with  my  blood." 

This  is  typical,  not  exceptional.1 

The  earlv  and  distinctly  Chapmanesque  tragedies  are  crowded 
with  metaphor  and  simile.     Scarcely  a  sentence  but  contains  a 
trope,  faded,  concealed,  or  emphatic.2     Everything 
His  Profuse  js   at   t}ie   farthest  degree  from    the   common,    the 

usual.  The  vocabulary  is  full  of  strange  latinized 
forms,  such  as  prefract  (257a),  decretal  (273b),  novation  (193a), 
inclamation  (195b),  aversation  (196a),  everted  (68a),  and  the  like. 
He  is  fond  of  inversions, — "  Her  men  ashore  go,  for  their  several 
ends."  (212b): 

"  Since  he  can 
As  good  cards  show  for  it  as  Caesar  did  ;  "  etc. 

He  is  profuse  in  illustration,  sometimes  giving  way  to  a  perfect 
riot  of  similes  and  metaphors,  as  in  the  interview  between  Baligny 
and  Clermont  in  the  Revenge  of  Bussy  U  Ambois  Act  II  (p.  189). 
In  the  same  way  he  is  fond  of  heaping  up  simile  after  simile, 
alternative  or  cumulative,  as  in  the  description  of  the  duel  already 
referred  to,  or  in  Henry's  invective  against  La  Fin  in  Act  III  of 
Byron's  Conspiracy. 

Chapman  in  his  tragedies  is  almost  as  abundant  in  hyperbole3 

as  Marlowe  in  Tamburlaine.     Different  as   they  are   in  essential 

characteristics,  Chapman  sometimes  strangely 
Chapman  and               ..     ,,     ,               «     ,                    ,  .          .  .      . 

__    ,  recalls  Marlowe.      Lach   sympathizes  in  much  the 

Marlowe  J      l 

same  way  with  the  Titanic  spirit,  the  lust  of  power, 
and  a  sort  of  hyperbolical  pride  of   soul.     The  passion  of   Chap- 

1  Note  for  further  example,  the  accumulation  of  violent  images  in  the  long 
speeches  in  which  Monsieur  and  Bussy  exchange  compliments,  Act  111  near 
end  (pp.  161-162)  and  see  the  hyperboles  cited  below. 

2  It  is  possible  to  include  only  the  more  striking  and  significant  examples 
in  the  lists  that  follow. 

3 The  chief  examples  are  18a,  109b,  150a,  158b,  162a,  163,  166a,  169a 
175b,  176a,  198b,  215b,  217,  229a,  232b,  235b,  ("He  may  drink  earthquakes 
and  devour  the  thunder"),  270b,  308a. 


102  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

man,  however,    is  less  naive   and  is   more  turbulent  and  turgid 

than  that  of  Marlowe.    It  is  evident  that  Chapman  in  his  tragedies, 

like    Marlowe     in     Tamburlaine,    is    writing    in    a    special    vein 

in  conformity  to  artistic  canons  of  his  own.      Consequently  it  is 

highly  uncritical  to  judge  his  tragedies  simply  as  tragedies.    What 

their  merits  are  it  is  more   difficult   to  state  than  it  is  to  detail  in 

order  their  defects  in  style  and  imagery.     Mr.  Swinburne  has  more 

nearly  done  justice  to  them   than   any  other  critic.     The  critics, 

however,   from    Dryden    to    Edmund   Gosse,   have 

-n     .  been  curiously    contradictory    in  considering    the 

of  Bombast  in  J  J  ° 

Chapman  question  of  Chapman's  bombast  and  fustian.      Mr. 

Gosse1  dismisses  Chapman's  tragedies  with  the 
remark  that  they  are  "plays  that  seem  bombastic,  loose,  and  inco- 
herent to  the  last  extreme;"  and  Chapman's  bombast  seems  to 
be  one  of  the  fixed  traditions  of  criticism.  Dryden2  condemned  it, 
and  various  later  critics,  Hazlitt,3  Warton,4  and  Ulrici,5  for  example, 
have  animadverted  upon  it.  Professor  Ward,  however,  in  his 
History  of  English  Dramatic  Literature,6  has  bestowed  high  praise 
upon  Chapman's  imagery,  and  Lowell7  prefers  to  speak  of  "an 
incomparable  amplitude  in  his  style."8  Perhaps  E.  P.  Whipple's 
defense  is  the  most  to  the  point  of  any  that  can  be  offered  :  "  Pope9 

'Jacobean  Poets,  p.  40. 

2  Dedication  to  the  Spanish  Friar,  Works  VI  404  (apropos  of  Bussy 
UAmbois). 

3  Lit.  Age  of  Eliz.,  Lect.  Ill  ("he  often  runs  into  bombast  and  turgidity  — 
is  extravagant  and  pedantic  at  one  and  the  same  time  "). 

4  Hist.  Eng.  Poetry,  IV  318  ("His  fire  is  too  frequently  darkened  by  that 
sort  of  fustian  which  now  disfigured  the  diction  of  our  tragedy").  See  also 
Hallam,  Lit.  Eur.,  pt.  Ill,  ch.  vi  §  103  ;  Campbell's  Specimens,  p.  130;  etc. 

sShaks.  Dram.  Art.,  Bk.  Ill,  ch.  ii  ("empty  pomposity  and  rhetorical 
pathos"). 

6Vol.  II,  pp.  10,  14-15,  19,  21,  35. 

7  Old  Eng.  Dram.,  p.  92. 

8 See  a'lso  the  Retrospective  Review,  IV  337  :  "In  no  author  have  we  richer 
contemplations  upon  the  nature  of  man  and  the  world,  where  the  shrewdness 
of  the  remark  is  ennobled  and  enforced  by  the  splendor  of  imagery  and  the 
earnestness  of  passion.'1'' 

9  Sic    Read  Dryden. 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  JO 


$ 


speaks  of  it  \_Bussy  D'Amdois]  as  full  of  fustian;  but  fustian  is 
rant  in  the  words  when  there  is  no  corresponding  rant  in 
the  soul,  whilst  Chapman's  tragedy,  like  Marlowe's  Tambur- 
laine,  indicates  a  greater  swell  in  the  thoughts  and  pas- 
sions of  his  characters  than  in  their  expression."  '  In  short, 
Chapman's  passion  is  real,  however  confused,  perplexed,  and 
turgid  in  expression  ;  Bussy  D' Ambois  and  Byron  are  very  stren- 
uous figures,  and  that  hyperbole  and  extravagance  abound  so 
much  in  their  speech,  granting  the  conception  of  the  type  of 
character  and  the  peculiar  species  of  poem,  is  not  so  unnatural 
or  improbable. 

Another  fault  in  Chapman   is   one  allied    to   his    predilection 

for  the  bizarre  and  grotesque  heretofore  adverted  to.     This  is  his 

fondness  for    puerile  quibbling,*  and   for   fantastic 

,  n        .j_        conceits.3     Excuse  for  the   quibbling  doubtless  is 
and  Conceits  1  ° 

found  in  the  fact  that  most  of  it  occurs  as  part  of  the 
comic  "business"  of  the  comedies  ;  the  conceits,  not  infrequently 
entangled  with  his  hyperboles,  are  too  often  unmeasured,  and,  as 
Professor  Ward  says,4  recall  the  conceits  of  Cowley  and  the  Fan- 
tastic School.  He  is  especially  fond  of  that  not  ungraceful  form 
of  conceit  in  which  .the  sense  is,  as  it  were,  turned  in  upon  itself, 

leaving  the  metaphorical  emphasis  upon  pronoun, 

_  .  ,.  preposition  or  adverb  ;   as   in   the  following  exam- 

Introspective       r     r  & 

Conceit  P"es  :  ^9a  ("does  he  think  to  rob  me  of  myself?"); 

51a  ("Up  to  the  heart  in  love"),  130b  ("  You  know 
the  use  of  honor,  that  will  ever  Retire  into  itself"),  144a  ("Never 
were  men  so  weary  of  their  skins,  And  apt  to  leap  out  of  them- 
selves as  they"),  311a  ("he  is  not  base  that  fights  as  high  as  your 
lips"),  328b  ("She  hath  exiled  her  eyes  from  sleep").  Another 
'Lit.  of  Age  of  Eliz.,  p.   153. 

3  See  examples  of  quibbles  and  plays  on  words:  pp.  4b,  5b,  22b,  24a,  24b, 
57b,  63b,  78b,  80a,  118a,  127a,  129a,  135a,  142a,  156a,  201a,  217,  219a,  231a, 
254b,  275,  286b,  287b,  289,  292a,  301b,  315b,  319b,  320a. 

3  Examples  of  conceits  :  40,  47  (the  opening  scene  of  All  Fools  —  a  delight- 
ful passage  in  the  right  Elizabethan  vein),  50,  133b,  158b,  165,  175,  177,  207a, 
223,  239,  255,  284,  291a,  300,  317,  321,  etc.  See  also  the  examples  of  Hyper- 
boles cited  above,  p.  128;/. 

4  Hist.  Eng.  Dram.  Lit.,  II  10. 


104  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

pretty  conceit  is  somewhat  similar :     "  Her  blood  went  and  came 

of  errands  betwixt  her  face  and  her  heart"  (317a). 

Chapman's  epithets  are  often  ingenious,  sometimes  poetical 

and  noble.     Perhaps  compound  epithets  do  not  occur  as  often 

as  might  be  expected  in  view  of  his  practice  in  the 

,,  .f.    .  translation  of  Homer.     A  few  examples  however 

Epithets  r 

may  be  cited:  127b  ("stiff-hammed  Audacity"). 
148a  ("the  fear-cold  earth"),  167a  ("  black-faced  tragedy"),  172b 
("music-footed  horse"),  175a  ("the  gray-eyed  morn");1  194b 
("foggy-spirited  men"),  249b  ("squint-eyed  envy"),  266a  ("the 
round-eyed  ocean").  Noteworthy  single  epithets  are:  2a  ("top- 
less honors" — a  favorite  epithet  with  Marlowe,  also),  141b  ("lean 
darkness"),  141a  ("the  waves  of  glassy  glory  "),  190b  ("the  insult- 
ing pillars  of  Alcides"),  180b  ("her  rosy  eyes"),  184b  ("steel 
footsteps"),  215a  ("wealthy  Autumn"),  353a  ("an  aspen  soul"). 
Formal  personification  is  a  distinctive  mark  of  Chapman's 
style  in  tragedy.      Many  of   his   personifications   are   of   classical 

descent,  and  many  are  pure  abstraction.  The  fig- 
Personification  ,  —  2  11  ,.    A       -^        ■  1  • 

ure  of  .Fortune,  usually  represented  with  wings,3  is 
in  Chapman  J       r  ° 

a  favorite  with  him.  Chapman,  like  Spenser,  loves 
to  elaborate  his  personifications.  Note  for.  example  the  long 
description  of  Envy  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  act  of 
Bussy  jD'Ambois,4  the  conception  of  which  is  quite  in  Spenser's 
manner. 

In  general  Chapman  is  characterized  by  abundant  and  highly 
conscious  and  literary  use  of  metaphor  and  simile.  He  loves  to 
amplify  and  pursue  his  tropes.  This  tendency,  however,  does 
not  prevent  frequent  obscurity  in  the  illustration,  due  to  his  theory 

1  Cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet,  II  iii  1,  etc. 

2E.  g.  142a,  172a,  198a,  224a,  225a,  245a,  308a,  355b,  363b,  etc.  Other 
personifications  are:  of  Death  96b,  115a,  162a;  Envy  146b,  Religion  205a, 
Despair  215a,  Truth  262a;  Occasion  293a,  123a;  see  also  148a,  172b,  175a, 
208a,  209a,  229a,  245a,  249b,  268a,  270a,  etc. 

3  "  The  rude  Scythians  painted  blind 
Fortune's  powerful  hands  with  wings 
To  show  her  gifts  come  swift  and  suddenly, 
Which  if  her  favorite  be  not  swift  to  take, 
He  loses  them  forever."   (142a.) 

4  Pp.  I46b-I47a. 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  105 

of  style1  in  part,  and  partly  also  to  the  naturally  involved 
and  abstract  character  of  his  genius.  Hardly  any  writer  has  a 
manner  so  personal  to  himself  and  so  unmistakable  as  Chapman 
in  his  original  tragedy  style.  His  range  is  very  wide  and  mis- 
cellaneous but  he  is  also  remarkable  for  a  certain  stock  of  favor- 
ite illustrations  and  metaphors  which  are  repeated  from  play  to 
play,    often    with    only    slight    variations,    as    will 

Poetical  appear    in    numerous    instances    in    the    following 

and  Vigorous         ,       .c     ..  ,  ,  .     .  .       ,,. 

T  classification   of   his  imagery.-       His    comparisons, 

however,  are    mostly    his   own,   and   are  free   from 

conventionality.      Occasionally  there   is  a  purely  poetical  touch, 

as  for  example  (p.  164a): 

"  Here's  nought  but  whispering  with  us  ;   like  a  calm 
Before  a  tempest,  when  the  silent  air 
Lays  her  soft  ear  close  to  the  earth  to  hearken 
For  that  she  fears  steals  on  to  ravish  her." 

1  Mr.  Swinburne  (Chapman's  Minor  Poems,  Introd.  p.  1.)  notes  his  "quaint 
fondness  for  remote  and  eccentric  illustration."  What  Chapman's  own  theory 
in  the  matter  was  may  be  inferred  from  one  of  his  own  similes  (185a): 

"  As  worthiest  poets 
Shun  common  and  plebeian  forms  of  speech, 
Every  illiberal  and  affected  phrase 
To  clothe  their  matter,  and  together  tie 
Matter  and  form,  with  art  and  decency; 
So  worthiest  women  should  shun  vulgar  guises." 

See  also  Chapman's  Dedication  to  his  poem  entitled  "Ovid's  banquet  of 
Sense"  (Minor  Poems,  p.  21.). 

2See,  for  example.  141b  (troubled  stream,  clear  fount),  so  188a  and  247a; 
162a  and  185a  verbatim  ;  166a  and  364a  verbatim;  62b  (black  ball  of  debate), 
217a  (  balls  of  dissension);  and  many  others.  There  are  many  words  and  phrases, 
whether  used  metaphorically  or  literally,  which  occur  so  often,  or  in  such 
characteristic  collocations  that  it  is  almost  safe  to  set  them  down  as  hallmarks 
of  Chapman's  diction.  Most  of  them,  of  course,  can  be  paralleled  from  other 
Elizabethan  dramatists,  but  the  presence  of  many  of  them  together  would,  with 
other  things,  be  strong  corroborative  evidence  of  Chapman's  handiwork.  Such 
are  Finger  (God's  finger,  Nature's  finger,  etc.);  spiced;  Drown;  Smothei  :  I" 
eat  one's  heart;  Prop;  To  cut  a  thread  ;  To  sound  a  depth  ;  the  idea  of  weight 
superimposed  ;  Shoulders  bearing  a  burden  (like  Atlas),  etc.:  Branch  ;  the  meta- 
phor of  wings,  flying,  etc.  (noted  by  Mr.  Powell  as  a  favorite  image  of  Spenser's 
also;  cf.  Works  IV  30711);  veins  boiling  or  swelling  with  poison,  etc.;  quench  ; 
whet;  puffed  up  ;  blown  up;  swollen,  etc.;  infect  and  taint;  shadow;  manned 
(e- g-  59a,  127a,  etc.);  engender  and  beget;  entrails;  chaos;  colors  (especially 


to  6  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

There  are  also  many  strong  and  idiomatic  metaphors,  brief, 
compact,  and  vivid  : 

"I'll  be  hewn  from  hence 
Before  I  leave  you"  (97a); 

"Thou  eaf st  thy  heart  in  vinegar'1''  (161b); 

"I'll  soothe  his  plots;   and  strow  my  hate  with  smiles"  (168a); 

"Let  thy  words  be  born  as  naked  as  thy  thoughts"  (182a); 

"as  if  a  fierce  and  fire-given  cannon 
Had  spit  his  iron  vomit  out  amongst  them"(i98b) ; 

"I  would  your  dagger's  point  had  kissedmy  heart"  (256a); 

"  I  .  .  .  .  will  not  have 
Mine  ear  blown  into  flames  with  hearing  it."  (268b) 

Finally  I  may  be  permitted  to  quote  a  somewhat  longer,  but 
very  noble  passage,  which  will  give  a  more  adequate  idea  of 
Chapman's  thought,  style  and  imagery  at  his  best.  It  is  part  of 
Byron's  speech  when  being  led  to  execution  : 

"let  me  alone  in  peace, 
And  leave  my  soul  to  me,  whom  it  concerns  ; 
You  have  no  charge  of  it ;   I  feel  her  free; 
How  she  doth  rouse,  and  like  a  falcon  stretch 
Her  silver  wings,  as  threatening  death  with  death  ; 
At  whom  I  joyfully  will  cast  her  off. 
I  know  this  bodv  but  a  sink  of  folly, 
The  ground-work  and  raised  frame  of  woe  and  frailty  : 
The  bond  and  bundle  of  corruption  ; 
A  quick  corse,  only  sensible  of  grief, 
A  walking  sepulchre,  or  household  thief; 
A  glass  of  air,  broken  with  less  than  breath, 
A  slave  bound  face  to  face  to  death,  till  death. 
And  what  said  all  you  more  ?     I  know,  besides 
That  life  is  but  a  dark  and  stormy  night, 
Of  senseless  dreams,  terrors  and  broken  sleeps  ; 
A  tyranny,  devising  pains  to  plague 
And  make  man  long  in  dying,  racks  his  death  : 
And  death  is  nothing  :  what  can  you  say  more  ? 
I,  being  a  long  globe,  and  a  little  earth, 

black)  used  in  moral  sense  ;  gall ;  to  stoop  ;  cement ;  etc.;  and  swindge,  fautor, 
noblesse,  treacher,  and  other  similar  words  common  in  the  poetic  diction  of 
the  early  years  of  Elizabeth.  See  the  references  that  follow  in  the  analysis 
of  Chapman's  imagery. 


GEORGE   CHAPMAN.  107 

Am  seated  like  earth,  betwixt  both  the  heavens, 
That  if  I  rise,  to  heaven  I  rise,  if  fall, 
I  likewise  fall  to  heaven  ;  what  stronger  faith 
Hath  any  of  your  souls  ?" 

RAXCxE    AND    SOURCES    OF    IMAGERY. 

Mr.  Lowell  writes  in  his  Old  English  Dramatists :  "Sometimes 
we  may  draw  a  prettv  infallible  inference  as  to  a  man's  tempera- 
ment, though  not  as  to  his  character,  from  his  writings.  And 
this,  I  think,  is  the  case  with  Chapman  '  .  .  .  Chapman  has  some 
marked  peculiarities  of  thought  and  style  which  are  unmistak- 
able.*'* The  following  analysis  of  Chapman's  imagery  will 
perhaps  contribute  to  the  more  definite  understanding  of  the 
predilections  of  his  temperament  and  the  scope  of  his  mind. 

Chapman's  range  of  imagery  is  very  wide,  and  his  manner 
very  loud  and  characteristic. 

NATURE:  Mr.  Swinburne3  has  noted  the  "close  and  intense 
observation  of  nature  ...  at  all  times  distinctive  of  this  poet." 
Inanimate  nature,  and  especially  the  various  aspects  of  the 
heavens,  the  atmosphere,  the  weather,  and  the  like,  are  constantly 
referred  to. 

Aspects  of  the  Sky.  The  Sun  :  2a  (Cleanthes  the  sun  of 
Egypt),  cf.  151b,  48b  ("Love  is  Nature's  second  sun,"  etc.,  14 
11.),  141a  (men  great  in  state  like  motes  in  the  sun;,  cf.  154b, 
263a  (the  sun  of  royalty);  Phcebus,  etc.,  4a,  4b,  275a  ;  219b  (to  be 
like  the  air,  dispersing  sunlight),  65a,  121a  ("joy,  sun-like,  out  of 
a  black  cloud  shineth  "),  332b,  352a,  354a  (examples  of  the  rising 
sun);  332b  (knowledge  like  sunbeams),  191b  (false  friendship  like 
the  sun  in  mists),  229a  (a  spirit  shines  as  sun  in  clouds);  251b  ; 
Shadow  110a,  179b,  191b,  216b,  244b,  327b,  239a;  239b  (like  the 
air),  376a  (the  poles  of  heaven). 

Stars:  12a  (like  moon  and  stars  reflected  in  water),  56b  ("  the 
sight  of  such  a  blazing  star  as  you"),  147b  ("like  a  pointed 
comet"),  cf.  169b,  175b,  207a;  210a,  215a  (like  a  star  from  the 
sea),  319a,  152b  (primum  mobile),  260b  (like  an  exhalation  that 
would  be  a  star),  188a. 

'P.  82.  *p.  88. 

3  Introd.  to  Chapman's  Minor  Poems  and  Trans.,  p.  lvi. 


.ec,F.     I 


lo8  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Moon  (cf.  Tides):  227a  (simile  of  the  moon,  stars  and  winds, 
14  11.);   162b  ("the  tender  moonshine  of  their  beauties"),  238a. 

Eclipse  :  68b,  173b,  227a,  244b,  255b.  Light  :  165b  (shine), 
188b,  229a,  255b.  Fire:  4a  ("eyes  Sparkle  with  love-fire"), 
cf.  4b,  9b,  42b,  47a,  68b,  99a,  119b,  120b,  284b,  310a,  317b, 
336a,  151b,  164b;  56b  (fire  of  anger),  cf.  116a,  134b,  188a,  210a, 
370b;  141a,  191b,  205b,  207a,  239b,  244a;  126b,  147a  (like 
bonfires),  147b  (like  a  laurel  in  fire,  like  lighted  paper,  like  flame 
and  powder),  169b  (like  fires  in  cities),  268b  ("  I  know  what  it 
imports,  and  will  not  have  Mine  ear  blown  into  flames  with  hearing 
it"),  175b  ("like  a  beacon  fire"),  177  (love,  like  a  burning 
taper);  208a  ("  treason  ever  sparkled  in  his  eyes  ")  cf.  194b  (sparks 
in  eyes),  199a,  151b,  254a  (furnace  of  wrath)  cf.  169a;  209a 
("  Melting  like  snow  within  me,  with  cold  fire  ");  140b  ("  Man  is 
a  torch,  borne  in  the  wind").  To  Quench:  52a,  56b,  191b, 
266b,  269b,  380a  ;  As  oil  quenches  fire  56b,  323b.  Sulphur  and 
vapor  (fumes)  148a,  224a,  232b,  369b,  376b. 

Clouds:  cloudy  looks  67b,  79a,  137b;  216b,  325a,  cf.  150a 
("  I  see  there's  change  of  weather  in  vour  looks"),  162b;  204b 
(clouds  of  trouble),  226a  (clouds  of  foes),  246b  ;   122b 

"  our  great  men, 
Like  to  a  mass  of  clouds  that  now  seem  like 
An  elephant,  and  straightways  like  an  ox, 
And  then  a  mouse."1 

194b  ("  foggy-spirited  men  ");  252a  ("  like  a  cloud  That  makes  a 
shew  as  it  did  hawk  at  kingdoms,"  etc.);  245b,  267b  (type  of 
instability),  369b;  154b  ("  Our  bodies  are  but  thick  clouds  to  our 
souls  ");  251a. 

Storms,  Showers,  etc.:  55a  ("Till  your  black  anger's  storm 
be  over-blown"),  148a  ("Storm-like  he  fell"),  163b  (Stormy 
laws),  164a  (like  a  calm  before  a  tempest),  198b  ;  Tempest  135a, 
so  292a  ;  47a  (showers  of  tears),  22b  (to  rain  humors),  238b  ; 
39a  (rainbow),  cf.  191b;  18a  (weather),  cf.  168b  ;  Winds  162a, 
171b,  232a  (like  dust  before  a  whirlwind), 251b  (as  the  sun  stills  the 
winds),  323a;  Thunder  and  Lightning,  17b  ("some  monstrous 
fate  Shall  fall  like  thunder"),  67b,  141a,  154a  (sin  is  "Like  to  the 

1  Cf.  154a;  cf.  Hamlet,  III    ii   366;  Ant.  and  Chop.,  IV  xiv  2;  Lucretius. 


GE0RG1    CHAPMAN.  109 

horror  of  a  winter's  thunder");   20b (" As  suddenly  as  lightning, 

beautv  wounds  "),  155b  ("A  prince's  love  is  like  the  lightning's 
fume"),  166a,  i6Sl>  ("A  politician  must  like  lightning  melt  'The 
very  marrow  and  not  taint  the  skin  "),  171a,  198b,  205a,  210a. 

Time,  Seasons,  etc.:  Morning  5b  ("  the  morning  of  my  love  "1. 
175a  ("  the  grev-eved  morn  ");   22a: 

••  Vet  hath  the  morning  sprinkled  through  the  clouds 
But  half  her  tincture,  and  the  soil  of  night 
Sticks  still  upon  the  bosom  of  the  air." 

164b  (night);  323b  ("Make  the  noontide  of  her  years  the  sunset 
of  her  pleasures");  Spring  48b;  Summer  12b,  91a;  275b  ("this 
January,"  i.  e.,  this  old  man);  274a  (the  seasons  return  but  man 
never);  270b  ("  life  is  but  a  dark  and  stormy  night  ");  Various: 
225b  (like  an  echo);  Chaos  164b,  245b  ;  Microcosm  61a  ("  The 
fair  Gratiana,  beauty's  little  world  "),  99b,  100b,  cf.  170a,  171a, 
144a. 

Aspects  of  Water,  the  Sea,  etc.:  Tides  145b,  188a  ("He  is 
as  true  as  tides"  .  .  .);  Sea  63b  (women  crossed,  tempestuous 
as  the  sea).  115b  (sea  of  woes),  122b  ("our  State's  rough 
sea"),  141a  (a  king's  deeds  "inimitable,  like  the  sea  That  shuts 
still  as  it  opens"  .  .  .),  150a,  159b  ("the  unsounded  sea  of 
women's  bloods"),  172a,  209b  ("  as  a  rock  opposed  To  all  the 
billows  of  the  churlish  sea  ;"  so  225a),  217b  (as  the  ocean  swallows 
the  rivers),  234a,  235a,  259a;  Streams  126a  ("  the  affections  of  the 
mind  drawn  forth  In  many  currents  "),  141b  ("  Leave  the  troubled 
streams,  And  live  ...  at  the  well-head"),  so  i8Sa,  247a;  226a 
(like  a  flood),  227b  ("  wind  about  them  like  a  subtle  river,"  etc.), 
230b,  239b  (false  friends  like  shallow  streams  reflecting  the 
skies,  etc.),  255b,  272b.  Flow  67b  ("all  this  plot  .  .  .  Flow'd 
from  this  fount"),  297a  (current),  228a  ("  All  honors  flow  to  me, 
in  you  their  ocean  "),  149b,  239a;  226b  (vessels  of  water);  12a, 
21  5a,  171a  (bubble). 

Aspects  of  the  Earth:  The  globe  271a  ("seated  like  earth, 
betwixt  both  the  heavens");  bog  229a,  cf.  31b;  169b  ("The 
errant  wilderness  of  a  woman's  face  "),  219b  (like  hills  piercing 
above  the  clouds),  236a  (falling  great  men,  like  undereaten  prom- 
ontories ;  cf.  270b   "  this  declining   prominent").    272b   (valleys 


no  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

and  mountains,  10  11.);   Dust-like    197a;  68a  ("  the  crater  of  my 
heart");  Earthquakes  150a,  163b,  cf.  235b. 

Inorganic  Nature:  Metals  324a,  196b;  141b  ("thy  mettle 
could  let  sloth  Rust  .  .  .  it"),  141b  ("like  burnished  steel, 
After  long  use  he  shined  "),  362a  (steel  toils),  10a  ("brazen  fore- 
head ");  83b  (leaden  steps),  223a  (leaden  rumor);  104b  (copper); 
Golden  356b  ("  golden  speech  ...  to  gild  A  copper  soul  in 
him"),  9a  (hair  like  gold),  so  13a,  61a  ("  My  dearest  mine  of 
gold  "),  322a  ("  if  she  be  gold  she  may  abide  the  test  "):  To  gild 
135b  ;  Silver  12a  (silver  wrists),  87b  (silver  song);  223a  ("harder 
than  Egyptian  marble");  Glass  220a  (brittle  as  glass),  cf.  251b, 
141a  ("The  waves  Of  glassy  Glory");  Cement  212b,  245b,  251b; 
Loadstone  67a,  cf.  50a  (riches  a  lodestar). 

The  Vegetable  World:  Trees  171b,  229b;  174a  ("Man  is 
a  tree,"  etc.),  232a  (fall  of  great  men  like  that  of  topheavy  trees 
before  a  wind),1  140a  ("As  cedars  beaten  with  continual  storms, 
So  great  men  flourish"),  267a  ("like  a  cedar  on  Mount  Lebanon, 
I  grew,  and  made  my  judges  show  like  box-trees"),  276b  ("tall 
and  high,  like  a  cedar  "),  163b  ("so  much  beneath  you,  like  a  box 
tree"),  148a  (like  the  fall  of  an  oak  in  Arden),  281a  ("hollow  and 
bald  like  a  blasted  oak"),  147b  ("D'Ambois,  that  like  a  laurel 
put  in  fire  Sparkled  and  spit"),  154a  (aspen  leaf),  353a  ("an  aspen 
soul");  Branch  14  (i.  e.  a  child),  51b,  249b,  244b  ("Cut  from  thy 
tree  ....  all  traitorous  branches"),  315b;  230b  ("plants  That 
spring  the  more  for  cutting"),  251a  (like  the  blackthorn  that  puts 
forth  leaf  in  midst  of  storms);  Mushroom  155a;  Fruit  161a,  187a, 
202b,  216b,  229b,  254b;  cf.  158b,  159a  (windfalls).  Nipped  in 
the  blossom  47a,  18a  (like  wind-bitten  flowers),  245b  ("frost-bit  in 
the  flower"),  109b,  150b,  321a;  Roots  230a,  234b,  cf.  to  root  up 
217b,  219a;  to  take  root  282a,  323a;  Sap  309b;  Withered  nob, 
Ripe  145a  ("a  courtier  rotten  before  he  be  ripe"). 

The  Animal  World:  Paws  59a;  210b  ("Like  to  a  savage 
vermin  in   a  trap"),  200a,  230b. 

Fish  :  62b  ("A  man  may  grope  and  tickle  'em  like  a  trout"), 
84a  (gudgeons),  62a,  90a,  133a. 

Reptiles:     328a  ("What  action  doth  his  tongue  glide  over, 

'Cf.  Webster,  39a. 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  I  I  I 

but  it  leaves  a  slime  upon  't  ?"),  352a  (flatterers  and  parasites 
thrust  up  like  toads  and  water-snakes  in  a  pool  "against  great 
rains");  Serpents  14b,  160a,  165a,  169b,  265b,  290a  (gentle  as 
a  toothless  adder),  310a,  26a,  70a  ("her  serpent  noddle,"  cf. 
213b);  287a  (Like  the  sting  of  a  scorpion):  128a  (a  courtier= 
like  a  cameleon) ;   200b  (toads). 

Insects:  59a  ("I  '11  smoke  the  buzzing  hornets  from  their 
nests"),  cf.  278a  ;  216b  ("  my  court,  A  hive  for  drones"),  so  21  7b  ; 
364b  (as  bees  gather  sweets),  336a,  24a  (stinging  wit) ;  41a  (blind  as 
a  beetle),  cf.  67a,  78a  ("as  brittle  as  a  beetle");  204a  ("Time's  old 
moth");  162a  (caterpillars);  109b  ("  glut  the  mad  worm  of  his  wild 
desires");  188b  (as  spiders  spin  their  webs),  330a,  27a  (cobwebs), 
so  1  54b. 

Birds:  27b,  cf.  45b,  318a,  262b  (Byron  struggles  like  an 
imprisoned  bird);  Flying,  Wings,  etc.  lb,  100a  ("her  winged 
spirit  Is  feathered  .  .  .  with  heavenly  words"),  154a,  174a,  184b, 
190b,  209a  ("The  black,  soft-footed  hour  is  now  on  wing"), 
209b,  243a,  257b,  268a,  318a  ("a  flight  beyond  your  wing"), 
365b.  371b;  Feather  144b,  197b,  337a;  note  that  Fortune, 
Revenge,  etc.,  are  generally  personified  as  winged  in  Chapman. 
Eagle  2a,  58a  ("puts  on  eagle's  eyes"),  67a,  121b  (type  of  roy- 
alty). 155b,  164a,  192b,  207b;  155b  ("flatterers  are  kites 
That  check  at  sparrows");  146b,  285a  (buzzard)  ;  319b  (widgeon)  ; 
1 6 ib  (screech  owl),  232b;  Turtle-dove  47a  ("One  like  the  Turtle 
all  in  mournful  strains,  Wailing  his  fortune"),  110b,  285a;  158b 
(peacock) ;  161a  (cuckoo),  228b;  22b,  (pigeons) ;  65b  (Like  a  jack- 
daw), 129b  (dandies  like  goldfinches),  133a  ("a  hammer  of  the 
right  feather");  47a  (like  the  lark),  156a;  210b  ("He  will  lie  like 
a  lapwing,  when  she  flies  Far  from  her  sought  nest,  still  'here 
'tis',  she  cries"),  cf.  248a;  332b  (the  cock);  311b  (goose). 

Wild  Animals:  Lion  105a,  189a  (as  chained  lions  grow 
servile,  so  nobles  in  peace),  192b,  220a,  230a,  256b,  359b  (Simile 
of  the  hunted  lion,  1  5  11.);  145b  ("  Here's  the  lion,  scared  with  the 
throat  of  a  dunghill  cock");  146a  (the  ass  in  the  lion's  skin ) : 
Tiger  159b,  i6ia("  dares  as  much  as  a  wild  horse  or  tiger"), 
176b  ("to  the  open  deserts,  Like  to  hunted  tigers,  I  will  fly"), 
201a;   270a  (Simile  of  the  hunted   boar,  7  11.),  320b:    318a   ("he 


112  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

has  not  licked  his  whelp  into  full  shape  yet"),  cf.  105a  ("Sweet 
whelps");  Wolf  48a,  161a,  231a;  158b  (porcupine);  Fox  48b; 
Ape  23a,  54b,  71b,  59a  (baboon),  144b,  92a,  100a. 

Domestic  Animals — Horsemanship:  71b  ("  I  have  unhorsed 
them  "),  30b  ("  overthrown  both  horse  and  foot  "),  Sob  ("  brave 
prancing  words,"  etc.),  cf.  233b,  339a  (to  bestride  the  back  of 
authority);  Curb  206a;  Spur  206a,  221b,  233b;  To  trot  after  277a. 
Horses  322a  (prolonged  metaphor  of  the  unruly  colt),  231a 
("The  stallion  power  hath  such  a  besom  tail  That  it  sweeps  all 
from  justice"),  236b  (like  a  lusty  courser  broken  loose,  10  11. )r 
256a,  256b;  336b  ("that  jade  falsehood  is  never  sound  of  all, 
But  halts  of  one  leg  still");  Ass  146a,  160a,  308a,  313b;  Cattle 
64b  ("  Is  the  bull  run  mad  ?"),  189b  ("Slain  bodies  are  no  more 
than  oxen  slain");  273a  ("such  exemplary  and  formal  sheep"); 
224a  (Elephant  dislikes  white);  262b  ("And  like  the  camel 
stoops  to  take  the  load,  So  still  he  walks");  146b  ("  if  I  thought 
these  perfumed  musk-cats  .  .  .  durst  but  once  mew  at  us  "),  292b 
("Was  there  ever  such  a  blue  kitling  ?").  Dogs  3b  (puppies), 
48a  (women  are  "Like  hounds,  most  kind,  being  beaten  and 
abused"),  278a  (like  a  dog  in  a  furmety-pot),  279b  ("be  thrust 
into  the  kennel,"  i.  e.,  be  put  upon),  327b  ("the  barking  of 
appetite"),  168a  (kennel),  cf.  255a,  199b  ("Some  informer, 
Bloodhound  to  mischief"). 

Fabulous  Natural  History:  Adamant  116a,  321b,  158b 
(heart  "hooped  with  adamant");1  Laurel  168b  ("The  stony  birth 
of  clouds  will  touch  no  laurel  ");  239b  ("  Stygian  water  [is]  .  .  . 
to  be  contained  But  in  the  tough  hoof  of  a  patient  ass  ");  Phoenix 
33b;  Cockatrice  65a  ("Is  this  the  cockatrice  that  kills  with 
sight?"),  185a,  301b  ;  Basilisk  169b;  Crocodile  132b  ("  Honor 
is  like  ...  a  crocodile  ...  it  flies  them  that  follow  it  and  fol- 
lows them  that  flv  it  ");  Halcyon  244b  ("  like  the  halcyon's  birth, 
Be  thine  to  bring  a  calm  upon  the  shore");  Fire-drake  365a 
("So  have  I  seen  a  fire-drake  glide  at  midnight  Before  a  dying 
man  to  point  his  grave");  Unicorn  148a. 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE.  The  Arts  and  Learning  :  79b  ("He 
is  a  parcel  of  unconstrued  stuff"),  131b  (the  Court  Accidence), 

1  Cf.  Webster,  96a. 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  113 

163a  (high  forms  in  the  school  of  modesty).  127b  (••stand  aloof, 
like  a  scholar"),  129b  ("  I  should  plod  afore  'em  in  plain  stuff, 
like  a  writing-school  master  before  his  boys  when  they  go  a-feast- 
ing  "),  141b  ("  like  dame  schoolmistresses  "):  304a  (a  truant  in  the 
school  of  friendship):  79b  ("a  map  of  baseness"),  cf.  uSa;  103a 
(glosses;  decipher),  113b  (prints),  cf.  164b,  278a,  127a  ("He  thai 
tills  a  whole  page  in  folio  with  his  style"),  315a  (written  in  lines 
of  fame),  318b  (imprinted).  145a  ("some  knight  of  the  new 
edition  "),  167b  (volume),  1 70b  ( I'll  write  in  wounds  —  my  wrongs 
fit  characters"),  217b  ("those  strange  characters  writ  in  his 
face");  236b  (the  stars  "  are  divine  books  to  us  "),  240a  ("  He  hath 
talked  a  volume  greater  than  the  Turk's  Alcoran  "),  262b  ("  in 
his  looks  He  comments  all,  and  prints  a  world  of  books  ");  224b 
(hieroglvphic),  so  236a  ;  185a  ("as  poets  Shun  plebeian  forms  of 
speech"),  189a  (simile  of  the  foolish  poet),  204a  (like  pedantic 
critics  of  Homer),  231a  ("  as  a  glorious  poem,"  etc.,  15  11.),  234b 
("as  a  cunning  orator,"  etc.,  7  11.),  142b  (rhetoric);  Gloss  215b, 
265,  370b,  384a;  141a  (cipher),  119b  (refraction),  169b  ("Here- 
after? 'Tis  a  supposed  infinite").  185a  (like  lines  in  geometry), 
113a  ("love  is  like  a  circle"),  221b  :  Sphere  254a. 

Music:  9a  ("  Love  .  .  .  tunes  the  soul  in  sweetest  harmony"); 
60a,  78b,  113b,  122b  ("we  have  spurr'd  him  forward  evermore, 
Letting  him  know  how  fit  an  instrument  He  was  to  plav  upon  in 
statelv  music"),  cf.  104a  (•"thus  you  may  play  on  me;"1 
124a  ("  like  a  virginal  jack  "),  161a  ("Still  in  that  discord  and 
ill-taken  note"),  172b  ("music-footed"),  173a  (consort  of  har- 
mony), 212b  (consort),  235b  (music),  240a  (in  tune),  245b; 
cf.  1 15b,  48b. 

Painting  and  Sculpture  :  47b-48a  (beauty  "  like  a  cozening 
picture"),  154a  (paints),  227b  (like  Arras  pictures):  140a  (like 
unskillful  statuaries),  175a  ("  Here  like  a  Roman  statue  I  will 
stand  Till  death  hath  made  me  marble"),  193a  ("Like  statues, 
much  too  high  made  for  their  bases"),  so  236a,  cf.  140b. 

Law:  cf.  199a,  63b,  193b  ("  Xo  time  occurs  to  kings"),  267a, 
:3b  (Nature's  serjeant  John  Death).  61a  (freehold),  63a  ("of 
counsel  with"):  63b  (Seal),  148a.   318a,  325b;  66a  ("Curses  are 

■Cf.  Hamlet,  III  ii  355. 


114  METAPHOR  AXD  SIMILE. 

like  causes  in  law,"  etc.,  8  11.),  68a  ("show  love's  warrant"),  69b 
(plea  to  confess  action),  96b  (bonds).  117b  (copy),  314a  ("  hold 
thy  tenement,"  etc.),  314b  ("enjoy  your  reversion  "),  cf.  320b; 
339a  ("What?  shall  we  have  replications,  rejoinders?");  208a 
("  delays,  Bribing  the  eternal  Justice"),  267b,  109b. 

Government,  etc.:  117a  (monopolies  and  free-trade),  cf. 
309b  ;  162b  (grief's  sceptre),  188a  (crown),  so  199b,  213b,  220b  ; 
271a  (life  a  tyranny);  121b  ("his  mind  is  his  kingdom");1  372b 
(the  soul  empress  of  the  body);  to  engross  102a,  11 6a,  286b. 

Medical  :  6a  ("A  Spaniard  is  compared  to  the  great  elixir  or 
golden  medicine"),  72a  ("extreme  diseases  Ask  extreme 
remedies  "),  cf.  310a  ;  96b  ("  this  unmed'cinable  balm  Of  worded 
breath"),  107a  (patience  a  medicine),  151a  (medicine),  cf.  215b, 
216b  ("this  physic  That  I  intend  to  minister"),  195b  ("Since  'tis 
such  rhubarb  to  you"),  238a  (balm,  etc.),  250b  (pills,  etc.),  259b 
(■•Where  medicines  loathe,  it  irks  men  to  be  heal'd"),  267b 
("  How  like  a  cure,  bv  mere  opinion.  It  works  upon  our  blood  !"), 
315a  (physic),  317b  (medicine),  329a  (physic);  162b  (grief  a 
sickness),  175a  ("he  dies  splinted  with  his  chamber  grooms"), 
255a  (the  March  sun  breeds  ague),  313a  (like  sick  men),  339b 
("I'll  cut  off  all  perished  members"),  374b  ("As  men  Healthful 
through  all  their  lives  to  grev-haired  age,  When  sickness  takes 
them  once,  thev  seldom  'scape;  So  Caesar  "),  62b  ("as  fat  as  a 
physician"),  368b  (physicians);  19a  (cankered),  so  89a;  66b 
(salve),  so  97a,  298b,  334a,  232b;  183b  (tumour),  265a,  376a  ; 
Infect  100a,  120a,  309b,  218a,  223a,  224a,  240a;  Leprosy  260a  ; 
Pleurisy  265b;  Purge  116b,  149a,  etc.:  Wound  ib,  68b,  120a, 
277b,  164b,  165b,  238a,  239a,  370a,  376a,  380a. 

Various  Estates  and  Occupations:  163b  (gardener),  204a 
(like  misers),  204a  ("  Chalon.  "How  took  his  noblest  mistress 
your  sad  message?  Aumale.  As  great  rich  men  take  sud- 
den poverty"),  223b  ("As  a  city  dame,  Brought  by  her  jealous 
husband  to  the  Court,"  etc.),  cf.  253a;  227a,  ("like  men,  that, 
spirited  with  wine,  Pass  dangerous  places  safe");  270b  ("this 
body  but  ...  A  slave  bound  face  to  face  to  death,  till  death"), 

1  Cf.  Dver's  poem,  Ward's  English  Poets,  I  377.  This  sentiment  is  traced 
to  Seneca's  Thyestes,  and  is  frequently  employed  by  Elizabethan  writers. 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  I  I  5 

cf.  149a,  209a,  35Sa;  355b  ( Fortune  Cesar's  page);  1511a  ("like 
woodmongers,  Piling  a  stack  of  billets");  Usher  276b,  231a; 
Thief  109a;  Hangman,  Gallows,  etc.  195b,  292a;  Giant  157b, 
207b,  208a,  235b,  378b;  155b  ("Worse  than  the  poison  of  a  red- 
h aired  man"):  Inn  329a. 

Trades  and  Practical  Arts:  Merchants,  Shops,  etc.,  53b 
(Nature's  debt-book),  60a  (set  his  gifts  to  sale),  236a  (bank- 
rout),  cf.  313a,  266b;  284b  ("My  shop  of  good  fortune,"  etc.), 
325a  (the  merchant  who  ventures  his  all  in  one  bottom),  327b 
("To  set  open  a  shop  of  mourning!"),  201a  ("our  state-mer- 
chants"), 225a  ("  Fortune  is  so  far  from  his  creditress  That  she 
owes  him  much");  Anvil  245b,  260b,  284a  ("I  have  you  upon 
mine  anvil");  Forge  134b,  103a,  131b.  221b,  etc.;  282a  ("this 
warp  of  dissembling"),  287a  (homespun);  317a  (like  the  needle 
of  a  dial);  Pawn  69a,  164a.  Building:  4b  (" Sleep  shall  not 
make  a  closet  for  these  eves"),  220a  (mansions),  270b  (the  body 
=  the  "groundwork  and  raised  frame  of  woe  and  frailty"),  284b 
("Thus  shall  I  with  one  trowel  daub  two  walls  "),  154b  (stone- 
laving),  236a  (foundation  and  roof),  355a  (building  on  sandy 
grounds),  376b;  Built  326b,  183b,  246a;  Fabric  171b,  200b; 
Wainscot  183a;  336a  ("Near-allied  trust  is  but  a  bridge  for 
treason");  251b  ("hath  but  two  stairs  in  his  high  designs;  The 
lowest  envy  and  the  highest  blood");  Gates  43a  ;  Doors,  lock, 
knock  51a,  128a,  312a,  153b,  217a,  317b;  cf.  261b  (pull  down 
and  repair),  and  48a  (Women  like  an  Egyptian  temple),  9b 
(Love's  temple);  137b  (trestles),  cf.  Prop  175a,  231a,  266a, 
376a. 

Agriculture:  327a  ("As  a  mower  sweeps  off  tlr  heads  of 
bents,  So  did  Lvsander's  sword"  .  .  .) ;  Sowingseed  142a,  201a; 
142a  (ploughing),  109b;    158b  (gathering  fruit);  Glean  84a. 

Mining:      61a,  96b,  233a. 

Ships  and  Sailing:  293b  (pinnace),  301b  ("we  have  sailed 
the  man-of-war  out  of  sight,  and  here  we  must  put  into  harbor"), 
cf.  333b  ;  309b  (bore  up  to,  and  clapped  aboard),  319a  ("The 
shipwrack  of  her  patience"),  223a  (sailing),  328a  (like  seamen's 
offerings);  122b  (to  keep  wits  under  hatches),  140b—  141a  (simile 
of  the  seaman  and  the  pilot,  14  11.),  157b  (wind   and   sails),  158b 


Il6  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

(voyage),    212b    (simile    of  the   ship   stopping   at   a    far-removed 
shore  for  water,  etc.,  14  11.),  233b: 

"  Give  me  a  spirit  that  on  this  life's  rough  sea 
Loves  to  have  his  sails  fill'd  with  a  lusty  wind, 
Even  till  his  sail-yards  tremble,  his  masts  crack, 
And  his  rapt  ship  run  on  her  side  so  low 
That  she  drinks  water,  and  her  keel  plows  air." 

Sports,  Amusements,  etc.:  48a  (women  "inconstant  shuttle- 
cocks"), 203b  (like  children  playing  at  quoits);  Dice  198a  ("any 
die  she  [Fortune]  throws"),  317a,  365a;  Cards  4b  (a  face 
like  the  ace  of  hearts!),  cf.  123b,  258a,  355a  ("he  can  As  good 
cards  show  for  it  as  Caesar  did"),  311b  ("the  discarding  of  such 
a  suitor");  Archery  276b  ("Still  from  the  cushion"),  150b 
("archers  ever  Have  two  strings  to  a  bow  "),  202a  ("Kings  are 
like  archers,  etc.  8  11.),  221b  ("to  pull  shafts  home,  with  a  good 
bow-arm,  We  thrust  hard  from  us"),  224a  ("like  to  shafts  Grown 
crook'd  with  standing,"  etc.) ;  Hunting  276b,  317a  ("I'll  retrieve 
the  game  "),  326b  ("men  hunt  hares  to  death  for  their  sports,  but 
the  poor  beasts  die  in  earnest  "),  335a  ("  I  have  you  in  the  wind  "), 
336a  (hare  and  hounds),  157b  (hunting  the  hart),  224a  (like  the 
disguise  of  hunters  and  fowlers),  270a  (like  the  hunted  boar), 
359b  (simile  of  the  hunted  lion;  cf.  also  165b);  Hawking  114b 
("muffled  and  mew'd  up  her  beauties"),  155b  ("like  brave 
falcons,"  etc.),  194a  (to  check  at),  208b  (quarry),  227b  ("We  must 
have  these  lures  when  we  hawk  for  friends"),  234a  (check,  and 
stoop).  252a  (like  a  cloud  that  hawks  at  kingdoms),  270b  ("leave 
my  soul  to  me  ...  I  feel  her  free  :  How  she  doth  rouse,  and 
like  a  falcon  stretch  Her  silver  wings,  as  threatening  death  with 
death  ;   At  whom  I  joyfully  will  cast  her  off  "). 

Domestic  Life:  176a  ("Virtue  imposeth  more  than  any 
step-dame"),  154a  (torture  the  sire  of  pleasure),  56a  ("the  fond 
world  Like  to  a  doting  mother  glozes  over  Her  children's  imper- 
fections with  fine  terms  "),  69a  (credulity  the  younger  brother  of 
folly)  220a  ("be  twins  Of  either's  fortune;"  cf.  170a),  308a 
(the  portion  of  younger  brothers, —  valor  and  good  clothes), 
378a  (death  and  sleep  brothers);  315b  (changeling);  50a  (riches 
a  wife);  199b  ("married  to  the  public  good"),  238b  ("married  to 


GEORGE  CHAPMAN.  I  I  7 

victory")  :  189a  (like  children  on  hobby  horses),  203b  (like  chil- 
dren playing  at  quoits)  ;  223b  (simile  of  the  jealous  husband),  cf. 
253a:  27a  ("to  make  virtue  an  idle  housewife"),  116a  ("she's  an 
ill  housewife  of  her  honor"),  317b  ("  these  strait-laced  ladies"); 
Dower  109a  (of  beauty),  49b;  96b  ("Pains  are  like  women's 
clamors,  which  the  less  They  find  men's  patience  stirr'd,  the  more 
they  cease  "). 

Dress  and  Ornaments:  3b  ("work  it  in  the  sampler  of  your 
heart  ").  5b  (to  patch  up  love),  156b  ("'the  outward  patches  of  our 
frailty,  Riches  and  honor"),  cf.  237a;  94a  ("he  that  cannot  turn 
and  wind  a  woman  Like  silk  about  his  linger,  is  no  man");1  cf. 
99a  ("I'll  be  as  apt  to  govern  as  this  silk"),  317b  (spinning);  191b 
("the  gay  rainbow,  girdle  to  a  storm");  Veil  67b,  159b,  332a 
("the  happiest  evening,  That  ever  drew  her  veil  before  the  sun  "), 
231a;  Bombast,  Fustian,  etc.,  79b  (a  fustian  lord  ...  a  buckram 
face),  156a,  191b  ("bombast  polity"),  142a  (naps);  Cloak  150a, 
176b,  iSia;  170a  ("my  breasts,  Last  night  your  pillows"); 
Clothe  212b,  327b:  Mask  164b,  184b,  292b,  304a,  309b;  Jewels 
154a.  155b,  181b,  220a,  221a,  308b;  13a  (eyes  like  diamonds, 
lips  like  rubies,  etc.).  cf.  50b;  cf.  321a  (shrunk  in  the  wet- 
ting); Untruss  233b;  Ingrain  308a,  cf.  265a;  Wear  threadbare 
340a. 

Colloquial  and  Familiar  Images :  Chapman's  comedies,  like 
Ben  Jonson's.  abound  with  images  of  this  sort,  in  the  invention 
of  which  he  manifests  considerable  ingenuity.  Many  of  those 
classified  under  other  headings  also  are  used  for  comic  effect  : 
e.  g.  4b  (a  face  like  the  ace  of  hearts),  cf.  123b;  318a  (to  lick 
into  shape),  27b  (bird;,  cf.  45b,  62a  (gudgeon),  64b  (sauce),  71b 
("looks  much  like  an  ape  had  swallowed  pills"),  79b  ("a  parcel 
of  unconstrued  stuff"),  129b  (goldfinches),  278a  (like  a  dog  in  a 
furmety  pot),2  284b,  290b,  304a  (truant  in  the  school  of  friend- 
ship), 321a  (shrunk  in  the  wetting),  300a  (Ouintiliano's  compar- 
ison of  a  feast  and  a  battle).  See  also:  87b  (the  apotheosis  of 
brooms!),  292a  (metaphor  of  gallows  and  hangman),  cf.  195b; 
287a   ("she   nails    mine    ears    to  the  pillory  with  it");    290b  ("he 

■Cf.  Webster,  95b. 

aCf.  Massinger,  The  Maid  of  Honor,  V    i   14. 


I  iS  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

drew  such  a  kind  of  tooth  from  him  indeed");  291a  ("make 
both  their  absences  shoeing-horns  to  draw  on  the  presence  of 
^Emilia")so  136b,  137b;  304a  (skill  in  baked  meats),  311b  ("let 
her  pluck  the  goose");  317b  ("you  had  almost  lifted  his  wit  off 
the  hinges");  330a  ("you  women  are  a  kind  of  spinners;  if  their 
legs  be  plucked  off,  yet  still  they'll  wag  them;  so  will  you  your 
tongues");  4a  ("a  face  thin  like  unto  water  gruel ");  12a  (ridi- 
cule of  various  pet  names,  "cony,"  "lamb,"  etc.);  29a  ("I  have 
an  eye  and  it  were  a  polecat");  31b  ("quagmired  in  philoso- 
phy"); 32b  ("like  to  cream-bowls,  all  their  virtues  swim  in  their 
set  faces"),  cf.  159b;  cf.  40a  ("Drown'd  in  the  cream-bowls  of 
my  mistress'  eyes");  36b  ("a  proverb  hit  dead  in  the  neck  like  a 
cony");  53b  (distasteful  love  "is  like  a  smokv  fire  In  a  cold 
morning,"  etc.);  54b  ("to  lie  at  rack  and  manger");  63b  ("let 
us  endure  their  [women's]  bad  qualities  for  their  good;  allow  the 
prickle  for  the  rose,  the  brack  for  the  velvet,  the  paring  for  the 
cheese,  and  so  forth");  70a  ("your  wife  that  keeps  the  stable  of 
your  honor");  89a  (simile  of  the  turnspit  —  "The  most  fit  simile 
that  ever  was");  iooa("likea  Tantalus  pig");  128a  ("my  ears 
are  double  locked");  132b  ("my  worth  for  the  time  kept  its 
bed"),  135b  ("he  lay  a  caterwauling");  298a  ("thus  shall  his 
daughter's  honor  ...  be  preserved  with  the  finest  sugar  of 
invention");  315a  ("has  given  me  a  bone  to  tire  on");  324a 
("  I'll  be  as  close  as  my  lady's  shoe  to  her  foot");  338b  ("this 
wooden  dagger,"  i.e.  this  poor  fellow);  145b  ("Were  not  the 
king  here,  he  should  strew  the  chamber  like  a  rush");  165a 
("Love  is  a  razor,"  etc.);  173a  ("a  fit  pair  of  shears" — i.  e. 
Guise  and  Monsieur;  so  319a);  179a  ("scarecrow-like");  iSob 
(haste  stands  on  needles'  points),  182a  ("  emptied  even  the  dregs 
Of  his  worst  thoughts  of  me"),  200b  (raan  =  a  rag  of  the  uni- 
verse); 158a,  210a  (to  break  the  ice);  226b  ("I  fish'd  for  this"); 
228a  (like  the  weight  that  draws  a  door  shut). 

Coarse  and  Repulsive  Images:  Chapman's  style  is  not  deli- 
cate, and  he  has  an  undue  proportion  of  repulsive  imagery. 
The  effect  sometimes  comes  from  a  mere  turn  of  phrase  ;  some- 
times from  the  deliberate  coarseness  of  the  comparison.  Under 
other  headings  the  frequent   metaphorical   use  of  such  words  as 


GEORGE   CHAPMAN.  I  19 

"entrails,"   "poison,"    "snakes,"   "toads,"   various   diseases   and 
medical  terms,  and  the  like,  emphasizes  this  effect. 

Metaphors  of  Birth,  and  the  like  (e.  g.  To  be  great  with, 
bring  forth,  beget,  etc.),  are  very  frequent:  Sob,  99b  ("The  ass 
is  great  with  child  of  some  ill  news"),  109b,  114a,  129b,  133b, 
134b,  135a,  277b,  319a;  144a,  150a,  151b,  162a  (so  185a  ver- 
batim), 1 94b,  248a,  257a,  265a,  378b.  Similarly  191a,  157b, 
228a,  253a,  79b,  cf.  223b  ("his  state-adultery"),  24a,  116a,  169b, 
262a.  Bawd,  Strumpet  etc.  114b,  200a,  233a,  260a,  267a,  271b. 
In  general  see  also  41a,  182b  ("Why  have  I  raked  thee  Out  of 
the  dunghill  ;"  cf.  161b  and  266b);  109b  ("see  how  thou  hast 
ripp'd  Thv  better  bosom"),  cf.  217b,  233b;  370b  ("The  rotten- 
hearted  world"),  cf.  145a,  376a;  281a  (a  series  of  disgusting 
comparisons);  305b;  315a  ("Drunkards,  spew'd  out  of  taverns"), 
cf.  222b  ("an  expuate  humor"),  339b;  146b  ("She  feeds  on 
outcast  entrails  like  a  kite,"  etc.);  155b  ("kings  soothed  guts"); 
372a  ("the  parings  of  a  .   .   man"). 

The  Body,  its  Parts,  Functions  and  Attributes:  cf.  229a. 
Heart  4a  ("the  heart  of  heaven,  the  glorious  sun"),  225a, 
233b;  Bosom,  breast,  22a  ("bosom  of  the  air"),  212a  (''earth's 
sad  bosom"),  215a;  155b  ("the  brain  of  truth");  Cheek  200b 
("cheek  bv  cheek"),  so  216a;  Eve  ia  ("thy  mind's  eternal  eye"), 
244b  ("a  calm  ...  In  which  the  eyes  of  war  may  ever 
sleep");  172a  ("Tumbling  her  billows  in  each  other's  neck "); 
Gall  211a,  229a;  Finger  154b,  183b  ("a  man  Built  with  God's 
finger"),  246a,  249b,  365b,  367a;  Stomach  365b;  18a  (the  womb 
of  hell):  Entrails  4a, 5b,  61a,  109b,  208a,  210a,  217b,  155b,  163b, 
164b,  189b;  205b  ("the  joints  and  nerves  sustaining  nature"); 
Freckles  148b,  180b  ("blood  .  .  .  freckling  hands  and  face"); 
Sweat  142a  ("his  unsweating  thrift").  217b:  and  many  others. 

The  Senses  and  Appetites:  Food  and  Taste,  153b  ("your 
conscience  is  too  nice,  And  bites  too  hotly  of  the  Puritan 
spice"),  so  177a,  181a,  195b,  224a,  263a;  64b  ("sauce  That 
whets  my  appetite");  68a  ("such  a  mess  of  broth  as  this");  8b 
(love  a  fig  which  destroys  the  taste);  48b  ("the  sweet  taste  of 
love,"  etc.;  cf.  52b);  289a  ("help  to  candy  this  jest"):  300a 
(comparison  of  a   feast   and  a  battle):   278b   (cloy),    313a;    332b 


120  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

(banquet),  cf.  141b;  141a  (surfeit),  so  166a,  221a,  251b;  182a, 
109a,  216a,  286b,  291a;  Feed  79b,  115b,  206b;  Thirst  167b 
("within  the  thirsty  reach  of  your  revenge"),  199b,  215b,  243a, 
364b;  Drink  96b;  Smell  61a  ("I  smell  how  this  gear  will  fall 
out"),  72b,  165b,  190b  ("life's  dear  odors,  a  good  mind  and 
name");  Hearing  239b;  Digest  Sob  ("digest  your  scoffs"),  cf. 
205a;  Devour  181b,  217b;  220a  (eating  cares);  To  eat  one's 
heart  161b,  176b,  217a. 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.:  Heaven  48b,  49a,  64a  ("  this 
earthly  paradise  of  wedlock"),  187b,  376a;  Hell  10a  ("  a  hell- 
ish conscience"),  16a,  115a  ("this  unworthy  hell  of  passionate 
earth"),  240a,  163b  (devil),  335a  ("that  devil  jealousy,  hath 
tossed  him  hither  on  his  horns");  Angel  33b  ;  267b  (kings  are 
like  the  ancient  gods),  187b  (rule  of  kings  like  that  of  God;  20 
11.),  227b  (kneeling  to  king  =  a  superstition);  237a  (the  ancient 
Persians  and  their  idols),  328a;  229a  (canonize);  48a  (Women  like 
Egyptian  temples,  beautiful  without,  but  with  idols  inside;  12 
11.);  171a  ("as  illiterate  men  say  Latin  pravers  ;"  12  11.);  Sect 
105a;  Rites  58b,  155a,  174b;  Votary  137a,  333a,  194b  ("a  poor 
woman,  votist  of  revenge");  Shrine  61a,  328a;  123a  ("to  make 
his  eyes  Do  penance  by  their  everlasting  tears");  Sanctuary  156a 
(the  law  =  a  S.),  156b,  365b;  Oracle  172b,  291b;  Spirits,  Ghosts, 
etc.,  147b  (like  the  wounds  of  spirits  which  close  at  once),  160b 
("  his  advanced  valor  Is  like  a  spirit  raised  without  a  circle, 
Endangering  him  that  ignorantly  raised  him  "),  163b,  244b,  269b, 
(cf.  166b);  To  haunt  146a,  287b;  161b  ("like  .  .  .  naturals,  That 
have  strange  gifts  in  nature,  but  no  soul  Diffused  quite  through"); 
23ob-23ia  (omens,  spirits,  etc.),  365a;  Dream  140b  ("  Man  is  . 
a  dream  But  of  a  shadow")1,  194b,  205b  (simile  of  dreams,  12 
11.),  243b;  Astrology  and  Influence  of  Stars  233a,  217b,  338b; 
Alchemy  216a;  Magic  Glasses  100b,  102b,  141b,  167a,  244a,  370a. 

Death,  the  Grave,  etc.:  229a  ("all  his  armies  shook, 
Panted,  and  fainted,  and  were  ever  flying  Like  wandering  pulses 
spersed  through  bodies  dying"),  297b  ("So  parts  the  dying 
body  from  the  soul  As  I  depart  from  my  /Emilia"),  cf.  379; 
271a  ("like  a  man  Long  buried,  is  a  man   that   long  hath  lived  : 

1  Cf.  Pindar,  cr/ctas  8vap ;   cf.  Tennyson's  Sonnet  to  W.  H.  Brookfield. 


GEORGE  CHAPMA  V.  I  2  i 

Touch  him,  he  falls  to  ashes");    163b  ("  like  Death    Mounted   on 
earthquakes");    13b  ("  Having  the  habit   of  cold  death   in  me"). 

329a  :  "'This  [the  tomb]  is  the  inn  where  all  Deucalion's  race, 
Sooner  or  later,  must  take  up  their  lodging. 
No  privilege  can  free  us  from  this  prison." 

165a  (the  grave  of  oblivion);   Breathing  sepulchres  189a,   270b. 
370b;    Buried   quick1    203b.   260a,  270b,  114b,  122b. 

War:  Siege.  Fort,  etc..  9a  (simile  of  the  fortified  town,  8  11.), 
65b,  96b,  2 1 6b,  2321.  253a,  261b,  275b,  154a,  156a,  185b  (like  sol- 
diers capturing  a  besieged  town  :  10  11.);  Assault  26b:  9b  ("  Love 
that  has  built  his  temple  on  my  brows,  Out  of  his  battlements 
into  my  heart");  337a  (Love  "Runs  blindfold  through  an  army 
of  misdoubts");  68a  ("Take  truce  with  passion  ");  165b  (to  fire 
a  train)  cf.  168a:  Powder,  Sulphur,  etc.,  147b,  194b,  208b,  317b, 
etc;  173b  (mustering);  171b  (like  ships  of  war);  300a  (a  feast 
compared  to  a  field  of  battle);  105b  ("Now  must  I  exercise  my 
timorous  lovers,  Like  fresh-arm'd  soldiers,  with  some  false 
alarms");  126b  (divided  affections,  like  an  army  disarrayed); 
151b  ("receive  My  soul  for  hostage  "):  "271a  (to  die  like  the  cap- 
tain); 330a  (to  quit  the  field);  162b  (wars),  164b  ("Irish  wars, 
More  full  of  sound  than  hurt");  cf.  also  278a;  284b  (to  trail  a 
pike  under  love's  colors);  Bulwark  17b,  174b,  260a,  cf.  376b- 
Arms,  Weapons,  etc.  113b  (Love's  armory)  63a  ("the  buckler 
which  Nature  hath  given  all  women,  I  mean  her  tongue  "),  174b. 
193b  (the  shield  of  reason),  203b;  314a  ("  such  a  disgrace  as  is  a 
battered  helmet  on  a  soldier's  head:  it  doubles  his  resolution  "), 
135a  (armed);  Cannon  166a  (the  thunder,  Jove's  Artillery),  so 
364a;  198b  (cannon  spits  iron  vomit),  170a  ("the  chain-shot  of 
thy  lust");9  so  205a;  199a  ("  as  a  great  shot  from  a  town  besieged;" 
8  11.);  162a  ("like  a  murthering-piece,  making  lanes  in  armies"); 
218b  ("What  force  hath  any  cannon,  not  being  charged.  Or 
being  not  discharged?");  226a  ("And  him  he  sets  on,  as  he  had 
been  shot  Out  of  a  cannon");  175b  (a  funeral  volley  of  sighs!); 
Sheathe   259b;  To  shoot   164b   ("You  have  shot   home").  158a, 

1  Cf.  Sidney's  Arcadia,  Lond.,  1893,11.420  "quick  buried  in  a  grave  of 
miseries.' 

2Cf.  Webster,  91a. 


122  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

236a,  66b;  Heraldry  215b  ("to  make  my  cannons  The  long- 
tongued  heralds  of  my  hidden  drifts");  291b  (rampant  and 
passant);    cf.  71b,  30b. 

The  Stage  and  the  Drama:  Tragedy  164a,  167a,  209a, 
("Clermont  must  author  this  just  tragedy"),  360a;  22b 
("like  an  old  king  in  an  old-fashion  play");  133b  (Plaudite); 
285b  (satire  on  artificial  disguises);  327a  ("  act  the  nuntius  ;"  "  a 
plain  acting  of  an  interlude  ;"  "  her  cue  ");  To  play  a  part  81a, 
165b,  313b,  327a,  339a  ("Nay,  the  Vice  must  snap  his  authority 
at  all  he  meets,  how  shall't  else  be  known  what  part  he  plays?"); 
249b  (like  nuntius  and  chorus),  145b  ("  'Tis  one  of  the  best  jigs 
that  ever  was  acted  "). 

Miscellaneous:  Melt,  dissolve  17b,  322a;  Mirror,  glass  51b, 
112b,  309a,  144a,  147a,  162b,  218a,  255b  ("for  one  they'll 
give  us  twenty  faces,  Like  to  the  little  specks  on  sides  of 
glasses"),  167a;  Model,  pattern,  mould,  255b,  323a,  293a,  338b, 
316b;  Colors:  Black  55a  (black  anger),  62b,  69a,  167a,  194b, 
196b,  202b,  209a,  232b  ;  White  209b  (a  white  pretext);  Green  66b 
(green  experience),  ib  (a^green  wound),  238a  (so  green  a  brain); 
232b  (so  blue  a  plague);  Poison,  venom,  etc.,  38b,  41a  ("the 
poison  of  thy  tongue"),  232b,  309b,  330a,  165a,  166a  ("the 
poison  of  a  woman's  hate  "),  174a,  215b,  217a,  221b,  238a,  2Joa, 
247a,  259b,  260b,  368a,  375b,  380b;  Instrument,  Engine,  Organ 
56a,  305b,  150a;  Coin,  counterfeit  79b,  135a,  230a,  323b,  330b; 
Painted  nib,  189b,  206b,  356b;  Swim  234a,  253a;  Drown  68b, 
40a,  116a,  119b,  126a,  223b,  229a,  232a,  235a,  245a,  255b,  277b, 
328a,  142a,  154a,  183b,  370b,  378a,  379a;  Pierce  26b,  53a,  109a, 
("That  makes  the  news  so  loth  to  pierce  mine  ears"),  110a,  115a, 
135a,  308a,  223a;  To  sound  a  depth  159b,  194b,  222a,  224a, 
227a,  240a,  246b  ("you  were  our  golden  plummet  To  sound  this 
gulf  of  all  engratitude"),  356b,  378b;  Snare,  springe,  etc.  159b, 
275a;  entangle  130a,  281a;  To  tie  i68a("his  dark  words  have 
tied  my  thoughts  in  knots"),  196b,  311a,  321b;  Whet  73a,  133a, 
138b,  308a,  323a;  Edge  31a,  326b;  Scourge,  whip  16a  ("do  but 
tongue-whip  him"),  285b  ("be  whipped  naked  with  the  tongues 
of  scandal  and  slander"),  19a,  332b,  156a,  246b;  To  wind  into 
121a  ("with  such  cunning  wind  into  his  heart"),  227b,  368b;  To 


GEORGE   CHAPMAN.  123 

rip,  rip  up  109b.  147b;  To  cut  the  thread  (of  life,  etc.),  67b, 
127a,  319a,  320a,  cf.  317b,  162a,  173a;  Naked  69b  ("Time  will 
strip  truth  into  her  nakedness"),  293a,  182a,  194b,  244b;  To 
smother  114b,  142a  ("thy  long-smothered  spirit"),  189b,  217a, 
223a,  254b;  To  weigh  in  balance,  etc.,  147b,  228b;  To  bear  up  a 
burden  (like  Atlas,  etc.),  115a,  155a,  193b,  260b,  cf.  190b;  Puff 
up,  blow  up  183,  184a,  201a;  Sift  254a;  Clock  154b  ("our  false 
clock  of  life"). 

Recapitulation  :  Nature  and  human  life  in  all  their  more 
prominent  aspects  are  copiously  represented  in  Chapman's 
imagery.1 

In    the    tragedies  a  good   proportion    of   the    more    striking 

images  are  drawn   from   nature,  and  occasionally   show  a  poet's 

keenness    of    observation.      See  for    example    the 

Ui  o    nTa tot T*p 

„      x  brief   picture    of   the    lark   (p.   47a);   the  humorous 

Treatment  '  r        '   '  . 

touch   upon  the  habits  of   the  jackdaw  (65b);  the 

description  of  the  ill-effect  of  eastern  winds  in  bringing  cater- 
pillars upon  the  fruits  (162a);  the  very  beautiful  short  simile  of 
the  calm   before   the  tempest  (164a);  the  short  cloud  simile  (p. 

245b): 

"  We  must  ascend  to  our  intention's  top, 
Like  clouds,  that  be  not  seen  till  they  be  up." 

And  the  simile  (207b)  of  the  eagle  running  on  the  ground  to 
get  a  flying  start, — Wordsworth  has  somewhere  a  few  lines  describ- 
ing the  same  phenomenon  of  bird  life;  or  finally  the  simile  of 
the  fall  of  the  oak  in  Arden  (p.  148a). 

In  the  comedies,  on  the  other  hand,  the  chief  feature  is  the 
number  of  colloquial  and  idiomatic  images,  recalling  at  times  the 
manner  of  Jonson,  the  great  master  in  this  vein.  The  comedies, 
and  the  tragedies  only  in  a  less  degree,  are  unfortunately  marred 
by  a  large  proportion  of  coarse  and  repulsive  images.  Perhaps 
the  segregation  of  these  images  in  the  analysis  gives  them  a  worse 
effect  than  as  they  stand  in  the  text,  where  however  they  are  bad 
enough. 

'"His  learning  was  very  great  and  very  wide  ;  but  he  is  equally  ready  to 
associate  his  ideas  with  objects  of  nature  and  of  daily  life."  (Ward,  Eng. 
Dram.  Lit..  II  10). 


124  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

In  review  we  may  note  the  prominence  of  the  following  sorts 
of  images  in  Chapman  :  In  his  Nature  imagery,  especially  in  con- 
stantly recurring  metaphors,  clouds,  mists,  exhalations,  vapors, 
fires,  tempests,  eclipses,  earthquakes,  chaos,  thunder,  meteors,  and 
the  like,  occur  very  often  and  are  highly  characteristic  of  Chap- 
man's grandiose  manner.  Favorites  with  him  also  are  the  images 
of  fount,  stream,  and  sea,  of  undereaten  cliffs  and  up-piled  moun- 
tains, of  storm-beaten  trees  and  frost-nipped  flowers,  of  eagles, 
lions,  tigers,  wolves  and  serpents.  It  is  the  fierce  and  active, 
the  awe-inspiring  and  Titanic  aspects  of  Nature  that  interest  him 
most  and  seem  best  to  serve  his  purpose.  Many  comparisons 
are  drawn  from  literature,  the  stage,  music,  law,  and  medicine, 
from  the  trades  and  occupations  of  men  ;  few  from  agriculture 
or  country  life ;  several  excellent  ones  from  ships  and  sailors' 
lives,  especially  in  storms ;  many  from  hunting  and  hawking, 
from  domestic  life,  including  dress  and  ornament,  and  from 
religion  and  the  subjective  world  (dreams,  mental  operations, 
spirits,  witchcraft,  death,  etc.).  Very  significant  are  the  images 
from  war  and  its  surroundings,  tending  to  corroborate  the  con- 
jecture sometimes  advanced  that  the  many  years  of  Chapman's 
early  life,  unaccounted  for  by  his  biographers,  were  some  of  them 
spent  in  seeing  some  sort  of  military  service  abroad.  Equally 
striking,  however,  is  the  comparative  paucity  of  such  similes  in 
Ben  Jonson,  who  is  known  to  have  seen  such  service.  Finally 
there  are  a  number  of  miscellaneous  metaphors  highly  character- 
istic of  Chapman,  but  which  do  not  alter  essentially  the  impres- 
sion of  his  habits  of  mind  derived  from  the  preceding  analysis. 


BEN    JONSON 


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r  A   .^ 

Every  Man  in  his  Humor 

Every  Man  out  of  his  Humor    - 

Cynthia '  s  Revels  - 

The  Poetaster 

Sejanus,  his  Fall 

I  rolpone,  or  The  Fox 

Epicoene,  or  The  Silent  Woman 

The  Alchemist 

Catiline,  his  Conspiracy 

Bartholomew  Fair  - 

The  Devil  is  an  Ass 

The  Staple  of  News  - 

The  New  Inn,  or  the  Light  Heart 

The    Magnetic  Lady,   or  Humors 
Reconciled    - 

A   Tale  of  a  Tub       - 

The  Sad  Shepherd,  or  a    Tale  of 

Robin  Hood    - 
The  Fall  of  Mortimer  - 


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125 


BEN  JONSON. 

Two  things  in  Jonson's  use  of  metaphor  and  simile  stand  out 

prominently,  which  have  not  as  yet,  so  far  as  I  know,  received  due 

notice.     The  first  and  less   important  is  the  abun- 

Two  Notewor-    ^ani   use  made   bv  him   of  the   animal  world,  fish, 

.   \  ,  reptiles,  insects,  birds,  wild  and  domestic  animals.' 

in  Jonson's  r 

Imagery  ^  's  hardly  a  sympathetic   use,  since   for  the  most 

part  it  is  a  mere  trick  of  making  animals,  in  every 
variety  of  collocation,  stand  as  types  of  opprobrium,  indeed  often 
as  mere  bearers  of  billingsgate,  as  for  example,  in  Corbaccio's 
little  tirade  in  Volpone: 

"  I  will  not  hear  thee, 
Monster  of  men,  swine,  goat,  wolf,  parricide  ! 
Speak  not,  thou  viper."2 

It  is  a  peculiarity  which    falls   in   well   with  Jonson's   harsh   and 
satirical  vein. 

The  second  trait  of  note  in  Jonson's  use  of  trope  is  his 
extreme  ingenuity  and  profusion  in  the  invention  of  colloquial, 
comic  and  familiar  images.3  Jonson's  comparisons  in  every  vein 
are  endlessly  varied,  but  his  colloquial  imagery  is  unique  in  its 
extent  and  comic  originality.  It  is  the  very  salt  of  his  dialogue, 
and  it  is  evident  that  he  relies  on  it  to  a  great  degree  for  his 
comic  effects.  It  is  used  with  characteristic  conscientiousness 
and  thoroughness  as  an  aid  in  the  exposition  of  character4  and 
in  the  enforcement  of  humors. 

1  See  infra,  pp.  140-143. 

"  Act  IV.  Sc.  ii.  V..].  I.  p.  382b. 

1  See  infra,  pp.  149-151.  This  reference,  however,  represents  only  a  small 
part  of  the  images  of  Jonson  in  this  sort,  which  must  be  sought  also  under  every 
other  head. 

4  As  a  single  example  note  the  characteristic  similes  pul  into  the  mouth  of 
Dame  Ursula  in  Bartholomew  Fair,  coarse,  reeking,  and  unctuous,  like  the 
unworthv  dame  herself!  cf.  II  167a  ("I  find  by  her  similes  she  wanes  apai  e"). 

127 


128  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Jonson  goes  about  his  work  deliberately  and  with  full  con- 
sciousness.    He  abounds  in  classical  and  literary  ornament.     In 
spite  of  the  great  number  of  references  given  below, 
be   -conscious-    i10wevei.)  classical  allusion  is  not  so  obtrusive  a  fea- 

ness  in  r    l  •  l  •      •       •       t      i        ^  T^      l 

Simile  Making   ture  of    his    st>'le   as   ]t   1S   in   L-vl-v'  Greene'   Peele, 
and    even    Marlowe.1     He    was    interested    in   the 

theory  of  his  art,  and  introduces  many  references  to  it  into  the 

1  Some  of  the  more  striking  illustrations  occur  as  follows  :  Various  mention 
of  the  Gods  I  195b,  357a,  423b,  II  19b,  47a,  101b,  187b,  362a;  Vulcan  I  66b, 
298a;  Ganymede  I  114b;  Janus  I  76a,  103a;  Hercules  I  103a,  428b  ("I  have 
sold  my  liberty  to  a  distaff"),  227b  ("He  cleaves  to  me  like  Alcides'  shirt");  II 
121b;  Atlas  I  296a,  II  121b;  Typhceus  I  327b;  Colossus  I  285a;  The  Hesper- 
ides  I  86b,  122a,  7a  ("play  the  Hesperian  dragon  with  my  fruit"),  so  I  28a,  II 
364b;  The  war  of  the  Giants  against  the  Gods  I  310a,  327b,  II  101b,  139b  ; 
Chimsera  I  397b;  Centaurs  I  444b,  II  371a;  Medusa  and  the  Gorgon's  head  I 
138a,  418a,  433a,  II  139b;  The  Furies  I  364b,  II  6b,  166a;  The  Fates  and  the 
thread  of  life  I  90b  ("the  muffled  Fates  "),  322b  ("I  knew  the  Fates  had  on  their 
distaff  left  More  of  our  thread"),  388a  ("Is  his  thread  spun?");  Harpies  I 
259b,  342b,  II  297a ;  Sirens  I  93a,  379a,  II  171b,  296b;  Garden  of  Adonis  I 
122a,  201b;  Hydra  I  227b,  II  122b;  Ulysses  1349b;  Agamemnon  I  119a; 
Medea  I  436b;  CEdipus  and  the  Sphinx  I  295a;  Ixion  I  244b;  Danae  II  50a; 
I  245a  ("  can  becalm  All  sea  of  Humor  with  the  marble  trident  Of  their  strong 
spirits");  Cupid  I  357b,  II  508b  ("the  delicious  Karol  That  kissed  her  like  a 
Cupid");  ^sculapius  envied  by  Jove  1149a;  Morning  in  her  car  II  82b;  II 
107b  ("men  made  of  better  clay,  Than  ever  the  old  potter  Titan  knew")  ;  II 
31  lb  ("Thev '11  sing  like  Memnon's  statue  and  be  vocal");  II  493b  (blue  as 
burning  Scamander,  etc.).  Cf.  also  II  20b  (Sir  Epicure  Mammon's  classical 
curios!),  165a  (Orpheus  and  Ceres),  343b,  494a  ("when  Cupid  smiled,  And 
Venus  led  the  Graces  out  to  dance");  Labyrinth  I  216a,  368b  (labyrinth  of 
lust),  395a,  II  31a;  Wheel  of  Fortune  I  328a;  Occasion  and  her  forelock  II 
380a,  I  182a  ("let  us  then  take  our  time  by  the  forehead");  Nectar  I  306a,  II 
81a,  357b;  etc. 

Some  of  the  more  important  literary  allusions,  parodies,  quotations,  etc., 
are  as  follows  (I  omit  more  general  reference  to  Jonson's  literary  quarrels,  which 
are  supposed  to  occupy  many  passages  in  his  plays:  —  see  the  Poetaster,  etc., 
passim);  I  13  (parody  onKyd);  98a  (parody  of  Daniel),  so  II  200b,  310b 
("Dumb  rhetoric  and  silent  eloquence  !  As  the  fine  poet  says  "),  cf.  I  415b  ;  I  88b 
(as  choice  figures  ....  as  any  be  in  the  Arcadia, —  or  rather  in  Greene's  works  ;  " 
cf.  ioib,  II  187a);  Shakspere  I  126b  (Justice  Silence),  139b  (Falstaff );  Euphues 
I  137b  ;  Tom  Coryat  II  179b  ;  Marlowe's  Hero  and  Leander  II  199a;  The  Mir- 
ror for  Magistrates  II  208b  ;  Lusty  Juvenilis  II  214b;  Chaucer  II  344a,  353a, 
367a,  415.  John  Heywood  II  476b;  Skelton  II  479b;  Jonson  (of  himself )  I 
415b,  II  417b  :  II  383a  (to  venture  among  savages  "  like  a  she-Mandeville  ") ;  II 


BEN JONSON.  iM 

body  of  his  plays.1  Two  of  his  characters,  indeed,  are  mere  per- 
sonifications of  the  humor  of  simile-making.  These  are  Carlo 
Buffone,  in  Every  Man  out  of  his  Humor,  "a  public,  scurrilous,  y^ 
and  profane  jester,  that,  more  swift  than  Circe,  with  absurd  similes 
will  transform  any  person  into  deformity, "3 — and  the  part  is  con- 
sistently carried  out  —  and  Miles  Metaphor,  in  A  Tale  of  a  Tub. 
Similarly  Jonson  tends  to  insist  upon  his  figures  and  to  make 
much  of  them.  It  is  part  of  his  method  in  art,  as  has  been  fre- 
quently observed,  to  leave  as  little  as  possible  to  be  inferred,  and 
to  develop  everything  to   the  height  of  explicitness.     So    it   is 

453a  ("  Bungy's  dog";,  cf.  474a  ;  I  31b  (Sir  Bevis'  horse);  I  1 16b  ('"Sir  Dagonet 
and  his  squire"),  cf.  194a;  I  169b  (The  Knight  of  the  Sun);  II  12a  (Clim  o'  the 
Clough)  ;   etc. 

Homer  II  349a ;  Plutarch  I  406a,  II  242a ;  Lucian  I  1533,387!);  II  266b 
("gull  me  with  your  .Fsop's  fables");  Plautus  I  107b;  Tacitus  I  444b  ("As  I 
hope  to  finish  Tacitus") ;  Seneca  1448a  ("What's  six  kicks  to  a  man  that 
reads  Seneca?");  Ovid  II  164b  (and  see  the  Poetaster,  passim);  I  410b  ("such 
a  Decameron  of  sport,"  etc);  Don  Quixote  I  434b,  II  6 1  a;  Paracelsus  I  44  tb.  II  28b; 
Faustus  II  59b,  474a.  See  also  references  to  various  authors  I  232L  (parody  of 
"  King  Darius'  doleful  strain,"  The  Battle  of  Alcazar,  The  Spanish  Tragedy  and 
The  Blind  Beggar  of  Alexandria),  365b  (Plato,  Petrarch,  Tasso,  Dante,  "Mon- 
tagnie,"  etc.),  415b  ("so  she  may  censure  poets  and  authors  and  stvles,  and 
compare  them;  Daniel  with  Spenser,  Jonson  with  t'other  youth"),  416-417 
(Sir  John  Daw's  literary  judgments  on  Plutarch,  Seneca,  Aristotle,  Plato, 
Homer,  Virgil,  Horace,  Persius,  etc.  I,  II  340a  (Homer,  Virgil,  Arthur,  Amadis 
de  Gaul,  Pantagruel,  etc.),  I  192b  I  burlesque  of  conventional  conceits),  so 
194b;  Various  allusions:  I  62  ("a  very  Jacob's  staff  of  compliment"),  82b  iSt. 
George  and  the  dragon),  117b  (Judas,  etc.),  174b  ("Who  answers  the  brazen 
head?  it  spoke  to  somebody";  cf.  Shirley,  Hyde  Park  II  iv  —  Mermaid  ed.  ]>. 
207),  189a  ("He  makes  a  face  like  a  stabbed  Lucrece  " — see  Gifford's  note); 
231a  (Howleglas),  429b  ("Amazonian  impudence"),  II  18b  ("here's  the  rich 
Peru,"  Solomon's  Ophir,  etc.),  19a  (the  Indies);  II  40b  (Dover  pier,  etc.),  2oga» 
296b  (London  Bridge);  etc. 

Historical  allusions  among  all  the  rest  are  not  infrequent  in  Jonson.  e.  s,'. 
I  371a  (Cleopatra's  pearl),  435a  (the  taking  of  Ostend);  II  50a  (Nero's  Pop- 
psea),  I  444a  (The  Guelphs  and  Ghibelbnes),  II  208b  (Columbus,  Magellan,  etc.), 
301b  (Pocahontas);  and  Sejanus  and  Catiline,  passim. 

'See  the  references  to  figures  and  tropes  I  9b,  13b  (conceit),  14a  ("rusty 
proverb"),  224b;  Simile  I  48a,  62a,  71b,  79b,  n 6b,  190b,  II  167a,  168b;  Meta- 
phor I  9b,  67a,  149a,  II  353b,  355b,  439af.  ;  Figures,  tropes,  etc.,  I  88b,  }86b, 
284b,  II  221a,  352a,  439,  445b,  475a. 

2  I  62  ;  cf.  71b,  79b,  1 1 6b. 


130  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

with  his  treatment  of  character  and  plot,  and  so  it  is  in  his  treat- 
ment of  metaphor  and  simile.  If  a  conceit  occurs  to  him,  odd 
or  ludicrous  in  its  way,  he  is  not  satisfied  to  suggest  it  in  a  brief 
metaphorical  phrase  and  then  to  pass  on,  but  the  jest  must  be 
pursued  and  exploited  to  its  utmost.  Thus,  instead  of  describ- 
ing a  fool's  brain  with  Jacques,1  as  being  "  as  dry  as  the  remainder 
biscuit  after  a  voyage,"  we  are  told  that  the  foolish  courtier  in 
Every  Man  out  of  his  Humor11  among  his  other  affectations, 

.  .  .  "now  and  then  breaks  a  dry  biscuit  jest, 
Which,  that  it  may  be  more  easily  chewed, 
He  steeps  in  his  own  laughter."3 

Still  in  fairness  it  should  be  said  that  Jonson  has  fewer 
forced  conceits  than  Shakspere,  and  that  his  method  in  dialogue 
is  on  the  whole  lively  and  natural,  as  far  as  mere  wit  and  comic 
effect  are  concerned. 

The   imagery    of  the   two   tragedies   is    totally  unlike  that   of 
the  comedies.     It  is  generally  colorless  and  conventional,  and 
apparently  modeled   on  the  style  of  the  Latin  ora- 
tors   and    historians,    much    of    it,    indeed,    being 
Tragedies  ..        ,     ,  ,   ,  ,  _, 

directly  borrowed  from   these  sources.      I  hese  two 

pieces  contain  considerable  hyperbole  and  personification  of  the 
conventional  sort.4  The  diction  at  times  remotely  suggests  that 
of  Chapman's  tragedies ;  not  so  remotely,  however,  but  that  we 
can  conjecture  the  common  models  on  which  both  are  founded.5 

1  As  You  Like  It.  II,  vii,  39. 

2  Induction,  Vol.  I,  p.  68a. 

3See  further  examples  I  71a,  71b,  96b,  108b,  147a,  149a,  431a,  etc. 

4  Personification  1310a,  II  82b,  83b,  102b,  105a,  109b,  138a,  139,  etc. 
Hyperbole  I  280a,  287a,  295a,  308b,  314b,  322a,  II  Sob,  81a,  81b,  83b,  89a,  99a, 
101a,  125b,  128b,  139a,  etc. 

5 1  find,  for  example,  that  the  description  of  Catiline's  last  fight,  in  the  con- 
cluding scene  of  the  play  of  that  name  (Vol.  II,  p.  139),  reminds  me  very 
strongly  of  Chapman.  Compare,  for  example,  the  description  of  the  duel  in 
Bussy  D'Ambois,  Act  II,  Sc.  i  (p.  147b-! 48).  Did  Jonson  have  Chapman  in 
mind  in  writing  this  scene?  A  somewhat  similar  method  is  exemplified  in  the 
description  of  the  battle  in  Kyd's  translation  of  Garnier's  Cornelia,  Act  V  (Haz- 
litt's  Dodsley,  V  242-245).  How  far  may  Chapman  have  been  indebted  to 
French  models  in  his  tragedies  drawn  from  French  subjects? 


BENJONSON.  I31 

Outside  of  the  tragedies,  however,  the  general  impression  of 

Jonson's  imagery  is  that  of  a  strong,  labored,  and  varied  realism. 

«*.«.  „  i-  Of  poetical  imagery  there  is  little,  though  at  times 
Of  the  Comedies         r  &  , 

the   heat   of   his  satirical   mood   inspires  him   with 

serious  and   forcible  images.     And  occasionally,  also,  Jonson's 

peculiar  cumulative  and  analytical  method  results  in  effects  equal 

to  the  most  striking  imagery.      So   Charles   Lamb'   has  remarked 

of  Sir  Epicure  Mammon's  glowing  daydreams  in    The  Alchemist: 

"  If  there  be  no  one  image  which  rises  to  the  height  of  the  sublime, 

vet  the  confluence  and  assemblage  of  them  all  produces  an  effect 

equal  to  the  grandest  poetrv."     Of  course  the   songs  and   the 

masques  are   not  considered   in   these   criticisms.     In    these,   as 

Mczieres2  has  observed,  a  high  poetic  qualitv  is  maintained,  and 

"les  images  et  les  metaphores  s'y  succedent  avec  une  abondance 

naturelle."     Jonson's  aim  in  comedy  is  presented  with  sufficient 

distinctness  in  more  than  one  passage  in  his  pro- 

Jonson's  logues,  epilogues,  and  by-plays  or  critical  passages 

Restricted  The-      ...       .  .  ,  t,  ■      ri 

...        .   within  the  scene.      A  portion  of  the  passage  in  i/ie 
ones  of  his  Art  '  . 

Magnetic  Lady,3  with   its  suggestions  at  a  distance 

of  Hamlet,*  exhibits  the  realistic  aim  he  held  before  himself.  "If 
I  see  a  thing  vively  presented  on  the  stage,  that  the  glass  of  cus- 
tom, which  is  comedy,  is  so  held  up  to  me  bv  the  poet,  as  I  can 
therein  view  the  daily  examples  of  men's  lives,  and  images  of 
truth  in  their  manners,  so  drawn,  for  my  delight  or  profit,  as  I 
may  either  way  use  them"  .  .  .  And  Jonson  is  indeed  constantly 
preoccupied  with  the  examples  of  men's  daily  lives  and  the 
images  of  truth  in  their  manners.  His  range  of  allusion  never- 
theless is  wider  than  that  of  any  other  dramatist  included  in  our 
study,  but  his  allusions  are  characteristically  those  of  the  learned 
man5  and  the  encyclopaedic  observer  rather  than  those  of  the 
idealist  and  the  poet.     His  interest,  strictly,  is  in  human  life  and 

'  Specimens,  283. 

3  Fred,  et  Cont.  de  Shaks.,  p.  363. 

1  Act  II.  Sc.  ii  (Vol.  II,  p.  410a). 

'Act  III,  sc.  ii. 

5  "  The  literature  of  the  Renaissance,  Erasmus  and  Rabelais,  the  literature  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  books  on  sports  and   hunting,  books  on  alchemy,  books   on 


I32  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

manners.  He  refuses  to  adopt  in  comedy  the  grandiloquent  or 
the  romantic  manner.  His  imagery  correspondingly  is  subdued 
and  colloquial  in  matter  and  manner.  "  We  do  not  meet  on  our 
way,"  says  Taine,1  "extraordinary,  sudden,  brilliant  images, 
which  might  dazzle  or  delay  us  ;  we  travel  on  enlightened  by 
moderate  and  sustained  metaphors."  Jonson's  comedies  are  a 
mine  of  idiomatic  English.  He  catches  and  records  the  current 
phrases  and  metaphors  of  common  life.  Almost  nothing  of  the 
conventionally  poetic  invalidates  his  realistic  diction.  He  is  full  of 
the  homely  sententiousness  of  dailv  life.2  Proverbs  and  prover- 
bial phrases  are  constantly  employed.3  Historical  similes  and 
examples,  familiar  and  local  allusions  abound.4  But  above  all 
Jonson  relies  upon  ludicrous  and  colloquial  similitudes  for  comic 
and  realistic  effect. 

Jonson's  pages  are  not  so  thickly  sown  with  metaphor  as  are 
Chapman's  and  those  of  many  others.  His  language  is  too  real- 
istic for  that.     There  are  almost  no  prolonged   similes0  and  few 

natural  history,  books  on  Rosicrucian  mysticism,  furnish  unexpected  illustrations 
of  the  commonest,  most  vulgar  incidents."     (J.  A.  Symonds,  Ben  Jonson,  p.  51.) 

"  Son  erudition  lui  presente  sans  cesse  des  images,  des  expressions,  et  des 
ide"es   empruntees  a  l'antiquite."     (Mezieres,  Pred.  et  Cont.  de  Shaks.,  p.  186.) 

1  Eng.  Lit.,  Bk.  II,  ch.  iii.  (p.  271). 

1  Sententious  figures  of  a  different,  a  Latin  type,  abound  in  the  tragedies  : 
e.  g.  I  289a,  290a,  293b,  304b,  307a,  314b,  326a,  II  122a. 

3For  example,  I  16b  (to  have  the  wrong  sow  by  the  ear),  16b  (claps  his 
dish  at  the  wrong  man's  door),  18a  ("As  he  brews  so  shall  he  drink"),  41a 
("Whose  cow  has  calved?"),  49a  (Fair  hides  may  have  foul  hearts),  347a 
("Pour  oil  into  their  ears"),  390a  ("The  fox  fares  ever  best  when  he  is 
curst."  cf.  Greene,  173b),  447b  (Strike  while  the  iron  is  hot);  II  69a 
("I'll  pluck  his  bird  as  bare  as  I  can"),  108a  (Still  waters  run  deepest), 
150a  ("You  have  a  hot  coal  in  vour  mouth  now,  you  cannot  hold"),  153b 
("He  has  a  head  full  of  bees"),  180b  (sits  the  wind  in  that  quarter),  328a  (a 
tub  without  a  bottom),  328b  ("  a  rat  behind  the  hangings  " — for  eaves-dropping), 
403a  (Call  a  spade  a  spade),  407a  (a  bird  in  the  hand),  473b  (for  the  black  ox 
to  tread  on  one's  foot).  And  see  A  Tale  of  a  Tub,  passim,  where  the  rustic  dia- 
logue is  liberally  sprinkled  with  proverbs.  See  also  I  393b  (the  fable  of  the  I" ox 
and  the  Raven).  And  see  further  I  59a,  350a,  439b,  II  117b,  151a,  153a,  176b, 
180a,  180b,  218a,  251a,  344b,  345  with  note,  376a,  406b,  425b,  430b,  436a,  443a, 
445a,  448a,  453b,  454a,  465b,  etc. 

4  See  infra,  pp.  203-204. 

s  See  however  I  246b,  247a,  II  88b. 


BEN  JOXSOX.  133 

prolonged    metaphorical   passages.'      Short   similes,  however,  are 
very  frequently  employed. 

In  the  effort   for  wit   and   comic   effect   it  was   inevitable   that 

many  of  Jonson's  colloquialisms  should  partake  of  the  nature  of 

conceits.      But  he  does  not  search  out  conceits  and 

ncei  s  in  \oad  his  style  with    them,  as  did  Lyly  and  later  the 

Jonson  J  ■   * 

poets  of  the  "metaphysical"  school.  Indeed  Jon- 
son like  Shakspere2  has  burlesqued  the  conceited  style  of  the 
earlier  school  of  poetry.  In  the  fantastic  contest  of  court- 
ship in  Cynthia's  Revels*  Mercury  is  made  to  utter  a  long  rhap- 
sody in  the  Euphuistic  vein  on  woman's  beauty:  "You  are  the 
lively  image  of  Venus  throughout ;  all  the  graces  smile  in  your 
cheeks  ;  .  .  .  you  have  a  tongue  steeped  in  honey,  and  a  breath  like 
a  panther;  your  breasts  and  forehead  are  whiter  than  goat's  milk 
or  May  blossoms," — and  more  to  the  same  effect.  Jonson's 
impulse  to  satire  and  parody  gets  the  better  of  him  again  in  a 
similar  passage  with  burlesque  touches4  immediately  preceding 
the  beautiful  lvric  "Do  but  look  on  her  eyes,  they  do  light  All 
that  love's  world  compriseth  !  "  Personification  and  hyperbole 
also  are  not  wanting  in  the  comedies  as  well  as  in  the  tragedies, 
though    they   are  used  with   little  serious   import.5      In  fact,  Jon- 

■  See  I  28a,  122a,  132a,  279b,  319b,  II  99a,  etc. 
•  In  his  130th  Sonnet. 

3  Act  V  Sc.  ii  (vol.  I  p.  192b). 

4  In  The  Devil  is  an  Ass  h.ci   II  Sc.  ii  (II  237b).      See  further  also  I   83b, 

21  la  : 

"Then  shall  Lucretius'  lofty  numbers  die, 
When  earth  and  seas  in  fire  and  flame  shall  fry." 

—  an  unhappv  metaphor  which  becomes  a  favorite  with  the  poets  of  the  next 
age  !  Add  II  317b  (a  passage  of  burlesque  like  the  two  referred  to  in  the  text 
above),  353b.  377a,  379b  (burlesque  of  the  conventional  poetical  hyperbole), 
501b  ("I  weep  and  boil  away  myself  in  tears");  and  see  the  attempts  of  Miles 
Metaphor  in  A  Tale  of  a  Tub,  passim.  Jonson's  similes,  moreover,  occasion- 
ally fall  into  ineptitudes  of  the  worst  sort.  See,  for  example,  I  140a  (Elizabeth, 
the  Thames,  and  the  London  sewers),  195a  (the  hills  of  tyranny,  cast  on  virtue, 
etc.),  and  II  96b  (kisses  close  as  cockles  —  the  same  simile  occurs  in  The 
Masque  of  Hymen,  III  28b,  where  Mr.  Swinburne  has  singled  it  out  for  ridicule. 
Cf.  his  "Study  of  Ben  Jonson"  p.  47).     Jonson  too  is  an  inveterate  punster. 

5  l*'or  examples   of   Personifications   (in   addition    to   those   in  the  tragedies 
cited  in  note  4,  p.  130,  above)  see  I  90b,  140b,  244b,  249a,  253a,  335  (Poetry), 


134  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

son's  spirit  of  burlesque  seizes  upon  these  two  respectable  and 
time-honored  figures  also  and  makes  them  serve  the  ends  of 
comedy.  Pug,  the  unhappy  devil,  in  shackles  and  waiting 
impatiently  for  the  termination  of  his  period  of  earthly  torment, 
exclaims:  "I  think  Time  be  drunk  and  sleeps,  He  is  so  still  and 
moves  not !'"  I  cannot  but  think  also,  in  spite  of  the  romantic 
tone  of  the  speech,  that  there  is  an  intention  of  burlesque  con- 
cealed under  the  hyperbole  of  Lady  Frampul's  confession  of 
love  in  The  New  Inn  r 

"Thou  dost  not  know  my  sufferings,  what  I  feel: 
My  fires  and  fears  are  met ;  I  burn  and  freeze, 
My  liver's  one  great  coal,  my  heart  shrunk  up, 
With  all  the  fibres,  and  the  mass  of  blood 
Within  me  is  a  standing  lake  of  fire, 
Curled  with  the  cold  wind  of  my  gelid  sighs, 
That  drive  a  drift  of  sleet  through  all  my  body, 
And  shoot  a  February  through  my  veins." 
This  is  either  the  worst  of  Jonson's  dotages,  or  the  very  midsum- 
mer madness  of  feminine  wits  and  the  best  of  burlesque  ! 

But  Tonson  could  not  escape  the  influence  of  his  age  in  spite 

of  the  most  resolute  theories,  and  there  are  touches   in   his  work 

which   bear   the   characteristic   Elizabethan  accent. 

Condensed  and  rapid   images  weighty  with  mean- 
Metaphors  r  5  . 

ing  and   poetry  sometimes  occur.      Lovell  in    The 

New  Inn3  says  : 

"As  it  is  not  the  mere  punishment, 
But  cause  that  makes  a  martyr,4  so  it  is  not 
Fighting  or  dying,  but  the  manner  of  it, 
Renders  a  man  himself." 

Volpone,  in  The  Tox,s  exclaims   (of  the  disappointed  would-be 

heirs):     "Now    their    hopes    Are    at   the   gasp."       Arruntius    in 

Sejanus6  comments  on  a  specious  promise  of  Tiberius  : 

II  279a,  349a  (The  Hours),  508a.  Examples  [of  Hyperbole  I  65a,  72a,  78b, 
93a,  216a,  237a,  248b,  393b,  II  58b,  349b,  376b,  379b,  etc. 

1 II  267b,  similarly  376b;  cf.  II  155a. 

*Act  V  Sc.  i  (II  37Ql»). 

3Act  IV  Sc.  iii  (II  374b). 

*  This  identical  sentiment  has  also  been  attributed  to  Napoleon. 

s  Act  V  Sc.  i  (I  388b). 

6  Act  III  Sc.  i  (I  295b). 


BEX  J  OX  SON.  135 

"If  this  were  true  now  !  but  the  space,  the  space. 
Between  the  breast  and  lips  —  Tiberius'  heart 
Lies  a  thought  farther  than  another  man's."1 

Equally  subtle  is  Catiline's  sinister  threat,2  on  hearing  of  the 
decrees  against  him,  "  I  will  not  burn  Without  my  funeral 
pile."  See  also  I  227b  ("Never  was  man  So  left  under  the  axe"), 
299a  ("His  thoughts  look  through  his  words"),  I  303b  ("a  quiet 
and  retired  life,  Larded  with  ease  and  pleasure").  Jonson  is 
fond  of  condensing  a  metaphor  into  a  verb,  as  in  the  last  two 
examples.  See  also  I  201b  (Xiobe  " was  trophaed into  stone "), 
250a    (poesy    rammed   with    life),    309a    (bogged    in    lust),    315b 

("croaking  ravens  Flagged  up  and  down").  There 
His  Epithets      are   also  many   striking  epithets  in  Jonson:   165a 

(sail-stretched  wings),  70b  (grey-headed  ceremo- 
nies), 107b  ("this  green  and  soggy  multitude"),  140b  (turtle- 
footed  Peace),  116b  ("your  stabbing  similes"),  138b  (wrinkled 
fortunes)  149a  ("your  skipping  tongue";  cf.  157a  "your  caper- 
ing humor"),  156b  (muffled  thought),  211a  (frost-fearing  myrtle), 
239a  (thorny-toothed),  249b  ("  pathless  moorish  minds"),  338a 
("the  furrow-faced  sea"),  II  107a  .(a  sulphurous  spirit),  125a 
("your  cobweb  bosoms"),  288b  ("stall-fed  doctors")  414b 
(silken  phrases). 

jonson  was  town-bred  and  by  choice  and  temperament  a  realist. 
Nevertheless  Nature  was  not  a   sealed   book  to  him.     There  are 

touches  in  the  Sad  Shepherd  and   elsewhere3  which 

e  in  show  the  ijerms   of  a  delicate  feeling  for  some  of 

Jonson  ,  ,         ,  .  r 

her  forms  ;  and  his  observation  of  nature  -so  far  as 

it  went  was  as  keen  as  his  observation  of  man.  Significant  illus- 
trations from  nature  are  not   infrequently  used  : 

I  291b:  "The  way  to  put 

A  prince  in  blood,  is  to  present  the  shapes 
Of  dangers  greater  than  they  are,  like  late 
Or  early  shado7iis.'" 

1  Cf.  Chapman,  158b. 

'  Act  IV  Sc.  iv.  Ill    122a). 

^E.  g.  I  248a  ("the  loving  air,  That  closed  her  body  in  his  silken  arms"); 

II  317b  ("  A  hair  Large  as  the  morning's,  and  her  breath  as  sweet  As  meadows 
after  rain,  and  but  new  mown  !");  etc. 


I36  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

I  362a     "  Turn  short  as  doth  a  swallow." 

II  300a  "I  shook  for  fear,  and  yet  I  danced  for  joy  ; 

I  had  such  motions  as  the  sunbeams  make 
Against  a  wall  or  playing  on  a  water."1 

II  489a:  "like  the  soft  west  wind  she  shot  along," — and  see  the 
whole  of  the  opening  speech  of  /Eglamour  in  the  Sad  Shepherd. 
Of  course  in  his  lyrics  there  are  many  such  touches.2  But  in 
order  to  determine  the  extent  to  which  nature  enters  into  Jon- 
son's  habitual  imagery,  an  inspection  should  be  made  of  the 
following  analysis. 

RANGE  AND  SOURCES  OF  IMAGERY. 

Mr.  Swinburne3  has  remarked  upon  "the  vast  range  of 
Ben  Jonson's  interest  and  observation."  In  so  far  as  embodied 
in  metaphor  and  simile  the  most  striking  results  of  that  interest 
and  observation  are  displayed  and  classified  in  the  following  lists: 

NATURE.     Aspect  of  the  Sky,  The  Elements,  etc.:    The  Sun: 

I  308a  (fires  of  liberty  like  the  sun),  I  140a  ("she  hath 
chased  all  black  thoughts  from  my  bosom,  Like  as  the  sun 
doth  darkness  from  the  world).  II  317b  ("Yourself  who 
drink  my  blood  up  with  your  beams,  As  doth  the  sun  the 
sea!");  Sunrise  I  343b  (the  rising  sun  =  the  new  heir),  I  328a 
("  He  that  this   morn   rose  proudly  as    the  sun,"  etc.),  cf.  II  82b, 

II  81a  ("Appear  and  break  like  day,  my  beauty,  to  this  circle"), 
Sunset  I  370b  ("Suns  that  set  may  rise  again,  But  if  once  we 
lose  this  light,  Tis  with  us  perpetual  night," — from  Catullus), 
II  84a  ("Cinna  and  Sylla  are  set  and  gone;  and  we  must  turn 
our  eyes  On  him  that  is,  and  shines");  Sunshine,  etc.,  I  24a 
("the  sunshine  of  reputation  "),  II  300a  ("I  had  such  motions  as 
the  sunbeams  make  Against  a  wall,  or  playing  on  a  water"). 

Light  :   II  3  (shines  greater  by  contrast  of  a  thick  darkness), 
I  251a  (shine).     Shade,  Shadow  II  84a,  300b,  464b. 

'This  simile,  it   is  true,  is  borrowed  from   Virgil   (^Eneid  VIII  25),  but  is 
none  the  less  apt  for  the  borrowing. 

3  See  especially  the  song  "  Have  you  seen  but  a  bright  lily  grow,"   in    The 
Devil  is  an  Ass,  Act  II  Sc.  ii  (II  238a). 

3  A  Study  of  Ben  lonson,  p.  77. 


BEN  JONSON.  137 

Stars:  I  88b  ("our  court-star  there,  that  planet  of  wit"); 
cf.  I  237a,  349a,  249b  ("Bearing  the  nature  and  similitude  Of  a 
right  heavenly  body"),  I  362a  ("Your  fine  elegant  rascal,  that 
can  .  .  .  Shoot  through  the  air  as  nimbly  as  a  star"),  II  238a 
("Do  but  look,  on  her  hair,  it  is  bright  As  love's  star  when  it 
riseth!"),  II  376a  ("  A  wise  man  never  goes  the  people's  way  ; 
But  as  the  planets  still  move  contrary  To  the  world's  motion,  so 
doth  he  to  opinion"),1  II  293a  ("Move  orderly  In  our  own 
orbs"),  I  371b  ("When  she  came  in  like  star-light");  Comet, 
meteor,  etc.;  I  110a.  247b  ("  for  me,  a  falling  star  "),  II  371b  ("  His 
rapier  was  a  meteor,  and  he  waved  it  Over  them  like  a  comet");3 

Moox  :  I  24b  ("that  thought  is  like  the  moon  in  her  last 
quarter,  'twill  change  shortly"),  I  286a  ("such  a  spirit  as  yours 
Was  .  .  .  created  ...  to  shine  Bright  as  the  moon  among  the 
lesser  lights"). 

Fire  :  I  4b  ("  while  you  affect  To  make  a  blaze  of  gentry  to  the 
world.  A  little  puff  of  scorn  extinguish  it"),  I  25b  (sparks  of  wit), 
92a  ("I  am  like  .  .  .  fire,  that  burns  much  wood,  yet  still  one 
flame"),  286a  (love,  "like  the  fire  which  more  It  mounts  it  trem- 
bles"), II  50a  (beauty  to  set  the  eyes  afire),  349b  (the  fires  of 
love,  8  11.;  cf.  I  357b);  I  139a  (the  flame  of  humor),  277b  (the 
fire  of  a  great  spirit),  310a  ("  the  pitchy  blazes  of  impiety,"  etc.), 
337b  (gold  that  shows  "like  a  flame  by  night"),  157a  (phrases 
that  "sparkle  like  salt  in  fire"),  168a  (to  throw  away  money  like 
burning  coals),  308a  (like  fools  who  puff  at  a  dying  coal),  II  97a 
("Cruel,  A  lady  is  a  fire;  gentle,  a  light");  I  101b  (affectations  = 
false  fires),  72a  ("Mine  eyeballs,  like  two  globes  of  wild-fire")  ; 
Furnace  I  357b  (Cupid's  flame  rages  "As  in  a  furnace  an  ambi- 
tious fire,  Whose  vent  is  stopt"),  II  332b  (an  enraged  man  like  a 
furnace);  Taper  I  150b  ("thy  youth's  dear  sweets  here  spent 
untasted,  Like  a  fair  taper,  with  his  own  flame  wasted"),  II  183b 
(like  a  candle);  Sulphur,  fumes,  etc.,  II  107a. (" She  has  a  sul- 
phurous spirit,  and  will  take  Light  at  a  spark  ").  cf.  115a. 

Heat  and  Cold  :  I  17b  (heat  of  humor);  304a  (fury  boils, 
heat  with  ambition),  cf.  310a;   Ice  II  83a  ("We  are  spirit-bound 

'Cf.  Shirley,  The  Traitor  I  ii  (Mermaid  Series  p.  97). 

2Cf.  Chapman  147b  :"  D' Ambois' sword  .    .  .  Shot  like  a  pointed  comet." 


138  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

In  ribs  of  ice"),  493b  ("stand  curled  up  like  images  of  ice"), 
II  88b  ("Sealed  up  and  silent,  as  when  rigid  frosts  Have  bound 
up  brooks  and  rivers,"  etc.),  I  72a 

"Made  my  cold  passion  stand  upon  my  face 
Like  drops  of  dew  on  a  stiff  cake  of  ice  ". 

Clouds:  I  19b  ("this  black  cloud,"  i.e.,  of  suspicion),  so 
135b;  II  159a  ("this  the  cloud  that  hides  me,"  i.  e.,  his  disguise),  cf. 
230a;  II  357b  (clouded  brows);  II  509b;  I  249a  (Kings  "Sit  in 
their  height,  like  clouds  before  the  sun");  Mist,  Vapor,  etc.;  I 
19b;  I  152b  ("the  least  steam  or  fume  of  a  reason"),  386b  ("I 
was  a  little  in  a  mist"),  cf.  II  127b,  108b  ("Our  hate  is  spent, 
and  fumed  away  in  vapor").      Humor  I  17b,  67a,  etc. 

Storms  :  II  333b  ("the  weather  of  your  looks  may  change  "); 
I  1  20b  ("  The  just  storm  of  a  wretched  life"),  II  195b  ("cloud- 
like, I  will  break  out  in  rain  and  hail,  lightning  and  thunder, 
upon  the  head  of  enormity");  Tempest  I  364b;  Shower  I  289a 
(shower  of  tears),  II  349a  (to  shower  bounties);  Thunder  I  287a 
("the  thunder  of  Sejanus  "),  289a  ("thunder  speaks  not  till  it 
hit.  Be  not  secure"),  418a,  cf.  II  6b  (to  thunder  at),  103b,  121a 
("  He  has  strove  to  emulate  this  morning's  thunder,  With  his 
prodigious  rhetoric");  Lightning  II  84b  ("You  are  too  full  of 
lightning,  noble  Caius "),  108b,  371b;  Hail  I  366b  (a  hail  of 
words);  Winds  I  311b  (Sejanus,  like  a  whirlwind),  326a,  II  iogb, 
1  Sob,  359a  (as  the  winds  shift,  so  a  decree  may  be  altered),  I  314b 
("Winds  lose  their  strength,  when  they  do  empty  fly,  Unmet  of 
woods  or  buildings  "),  II  489a  ;   Echo  I  150b,  458a. 

Aspects  of  Water,  The  Sea,  etc.  Sea  :  I  66a  ("  conscience  Is 
vaster  than  the  ocean  "),  431a  (a  sea  and  flood  of  noise);  Tide  I 
110a  (ebb  and  flow  of  humor),  cf.  II  68a,  262b  ("such  tides  of 
business  "),  282a  ("  The  powers  of  one  and  twenty,  like  a  tide, 
Flow  in  upon  me");  II  317b  ("my  princess  draws  me  with  her 
looks,  And  hales'  me  in,  as  eddies  draw  in  boats,"  etc.);  I  183a 
(good  men,  like  the  sea,  always  salt),  295b  ("all  my  streams  of 
grief  are  lost,  No  less  than  are  land  waters  in  the  sea,  Or  showers 
in  rivers");  Pool,  Sink,  etc.  I  92a,  II  119a,  etc.  Spring  I 
143  (the  Court  the  spring  which  waters  England),  II  351a  ("a 
fountain  of  sport");   River,  Stream   I  92a  ("I  am  like    a   pure 


BEN  JONSO.X.  139 

and  sprightly  river.  That  moves  forever,  and  yet  still  the  same"), 
1  15b  ("the  stream  of  her  humor"),  248b  (the  streams  of  poesy), 
1  1 60b  (an  overflowing  face),  440a  (youth  like  rivers  that  cannot 
be  called  back);  Torrent  II  102a  ("Ambition,  like  a  torrent,  ne'er 
looks  back  "),  I  386a,  II  128b;  Flood  I  31a  (the  flood  of  passion), 
85a,  124a  ("you  shall  see  the  very  torrent  of  his  envy  break  forth 
like  a  land-flood"),  310b,  352a,  II  88b  ("break  Upon  them  like 
a  deluge  "),  96a. 

Aspects  of  the  Earth  :   Cf.   II    237b.     Precipice  (of  sin,  etc.) 

I  22b,  II  259b  ("My  fortunes  standing  in  this  precipice"),  346b; 
Mountains  I  108b  (to  stand  "before  their  Maker,  like  impudent 
mountains"),  II  113b  ("  the  mountain  of  our  faults");  Earth- 
quake I  431a,  II  326a;  Bog,  quagmire  I  28a  ("give  you  oppor- 
tunitv,  no  quicksand  Devours  or  swallows  swifter"),  108b,  309a 
(bogged  in  lust),  II  166a;  Dirt,  clod,  dust,  etc.;  I  75b  ("to  be 
enamoured  on  this  dustv  turf,  This  clod!"),  135b  (dust  of  sus- 
picion), 162a  (dust  and  whirlwind),  so  311b,  II  370b  ("thou 
glorious  dirt  ! "):   Path,  highway,  etc.,  I    148a,    182a,   305b,  398a, 

II  37b,  9Sa  (to  cut  a  way),  401b. 

Inorganic  Nature:  Metals  I  23b  ("the  metal  of  your  minds 
Is  eaten  with  the  rust  of  idleness"),  183b,  II  243b  ("I  am  not 
So  utterlv  of  an  ore  un-to-be-melted"),  451b;  I  28a  (leaden 
sleep),  248b  (leaden  souls),  I  157a  ("Act  freely,  carelessly,  and 
capriciouslv,  as  if  our  veins  ran  with  quicksilver"),  II  328a 
("Forehead  of  steel  and  mouth  of  brass!");  Glass  I  188b;  I  28a 
las  a  jet  draws  straws);  Caract1  I  28a,  II  223a,  395b,  401b;  Salt 
I  82a,  cf.  157a,  183a,  349b,  380a,  II  149b,  374b,  446a. 

Time,  Seasons,  etc.:  I  162a  ("Today  you  shall  have  her  look 
as  clear  and  fresh  as  the  morning,  and  tomorrow  as  melancholic 
as  midnight  "),  290a  (the  night  of  ambition),  32  ia  ("About  the 
noon  of  night"):'  I  394a  ("it  is  summer  with  you  now  ;*  Your 
winter  will  come  on  "),  I  95a  ("  look  not  like  winter  thus  "  ),  307b 
("  the  winter  of  their  fate  ");  I  393a  (autumn),  406b  ("  her  autum- 
nal face");  II  224a  ("  ere  your  spring  be  gone,  enjoy  it"),  489a 
("the  world  may  find  the  Spring  by  following  her  ");  I  414b  ("as 

1  See  Gilford's  note. 
2Cf.  Whalley's  note. 


140  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

proud  as  May  and  humorous  as  April"),  II  441b  ("  he'll  weep 
you  like  all  April  "j.1 

The  Vegetable  World  :  II  120b  (the  weed  of  evil,  etc.),  cf.  66b, 
208b;  Trees  I  124a  (like  the  chopping-down  of  a  full-grown 
tree),  307a  ("  a  fortune  sent  to  exercise  Your  virtue,  as  the  wind 
doth  try  strong  trees,  Who  by  vexation  grow  more  sound  and 
firm");  319b  (Germanicus,  "the  lofty  cedar  of  the  world," 
Drusus,  "that  upright  elm,"  etc.  12  11.),  383a  ("that  piece  of 
cedar,  That  fine  well-timbered  gallant"),  II  361a  ("his  tall  And 
growing  gravity,  so  cedar-like),  333b  ;  I  326a  (leaves);  Seeds  I 
277b,  II  79b  (the  seeds  of  treason),  128a,  272b,  330b;  I  305a 
("greatness  hath  his  cankers.  Worms  and  moths  Breed  out  of 
too  much  humor");  Flowers  II  507b  (she  is  the  "crown  and 
garland  of  the  wood"),  I  201b  (roses  and  thorns,  beauty  and  its 
guardians),  cf.  372a;  II  224a  ("Flowers,  Though  fair,  are  oft  but 
of  one  morning"),  cf.  489a,  II  238a  (white  as  a  lily),  505a  ("  His 
lip  is  softer,  sweeter  than  the  rose");  Blossom  and  fruit  I  367a 
(of  hope);  Fruit  I  349b  ("All  her  looks  are  sweet  As  the  first 
grapes  or  cherries"),  28a  ("To  taste  the  fruit  of  beauty's  golden 
tree"),  252a,  277b,  371a,  II  10a  ("A  fine  young  quodling," 
cf.  Gifford's  note),  II  149b  (the  garden  and  fruits  of  beauty),  cf. 
230b;  II  327a  ("  Hang  him,  an  austere  grape,"  etc.);  I  290b  ("  Let 
him  grow  awhile,  His  fate  is  not  yet  ripe"),  349a;  I  407a  (a  well- 
dressed  woman  is  "like  a  delicate  garden"),  II  416b  ("France, 
that  garden  of  humanity,  The  very  seed-plot  of  all  courtesies"); 
1117a  ("  O,  that  such  muddy  flags  .  .  .  should  achieve  The  name 
of  manhood");   Mushroom  I  75b,  419b,  II  417a,  etc. 

The  Animal  World  is  used  in  Jonson  largely  to  supply  oppro- 
brious epithets,  Beasts  I  24b,  283a  ("Of  all  wild  beasts  preserve 
me  from  a  tyrant"),  I  398b  ("  Mischiefs  feed  Like  beasts  till  they 
be  fat,  and  then  they  bleed"),  II  114a,  128b,  174b;  Animal  I 
171b,  II  376a;  Vermin  II  152b,  279b,  426b;  To  hatch  II  27a 
("hatch  gold  in  a  furnace  .  .  .  As  they  do  eggs  in  Egypt!"),  280b, 
459a.  Fish:  Sponge  I  68a  (spongy  souls),  324a  ("how  the 
sponges  open  and  take  in,  And  shut  again!");  I  209b  ("How- 
e'er   that   common   spawn   of   ignorance,  Our  fry  of  writers,  may 

1  Cf.  Ant.  and  Cleop.,  Ill  ii  43  "The  April's  in  her  eyes." 


BEN  JONSON.  141 

beslime  his  fame "),  1 1  309a  ("as  dumb  as  a  fish");  Shark  I  64, 
25411.443a.  II  ()1>;  Whale  I  77b  ("like  a  boisterous  whale  swallow- 
ing the  poor.  Still  swim  in  wealth  and  pleasure"),  II  167a 
("they'll  kill  the  poor  whale  and  make  oil  of  her!");  Porpoise  I 
326b  (cf.  Clifford's  note),  443a;  Flounder  I  103a;  Pike  II  332a; 
Carp  1  iSSb;  Smelt  1  161a;  Rochet  I  369a;  I  164a  ("they  are  all 
...  no  better  than  a  few  trouts  cast  ashore,  or  a  dish  of  eels  in  a 
sand-bag"). 

Reptii.es:  Crocodile  I  133b,  292b,  461a;  Serpent  I  76b,  78b, 
289b  (rear  Their  forces,  like  seen  snakes,  that  else  would  lie  Rolled 
in  their  circles,  close"),  II  122b;  Viper  I  106b,  300a,  II  298b, 
422b;  I  361b  ("I  could  skip  Out  of  my  skin  now,  like  a  subtle 
snake"),  II  105a  ("  their  snaky  ways,"  etc.);  II  83a  (tortoise  speed); 
Cameleon  I  383b,  II  304a.  Snail  I  275a  ("We  have  .  .  .  No  soft 
and  glutinous  bodies  that  can  stick,  Like  snails  on  painted  walls  "). 

Insects:  1462a  ("Take  heed  of  such  insectae  hereafter"); 
Flies  I  172b  ("all  the  gallants  came  about  you  like  flies"),  315b, 
394a,  414b,  II  83a,  125b,  156a,  227b  ("blow  them  off  again, Like  so 
many  dead  flies"),  II  342a,  431a,  II  238a  ("At  this  window  She 
shall  no  more  be  buzzed  at "),  I  226b  ("  This  brize  has  pricked 
my  patience")  Flyblown  II  275b,  353a;  Bees  I  350a,  \\  41a  ("till 
he  be  tame  As  .  .  .  bees  are  with  a  besom "),  505a;  Drone  II 
348b;  Swarm  I  35b,  II  320a;  Wasps  II  448b;  Hornets  I  265b, 
266b;  Sting  II  264a;  Butterflies  I  154a;  Grasshoppers  I  266b 
("like  so  many  screaming  grasshoppers  Held  by  the  wings,  fill 
every  ear  with  noise:"  —  so  364b,  where  see  Gifford's  note;  also 
II  406b),  II  1 60b  ("your  grasshopper's  thighs"),  332a  ("he  will 
live  like  a  grasshopper  On  dew");  Locust  I  369b;  Beetle  II  6b 
(scarab),  I  246a  ("  They  are  the  moths  and  scarabs  of  a  state  ");  I 
49b,  183a  (dor);  Moth  I  246a,  461b,  II  324a;  Gnats  I  328a  ("They 
that  .  .  .  like  gnats,  played  in  his  beams  ");  Ants  I  45b  ("they  will 
be  doing  with  the  pismire,  raising  a  hill  a  man  may  spurn  abroad 
with  his  foot  at  pleasure  "),  145a  (Emmet;;  Earwig  I  458b;  Cater- 
pillar I  106b;  Worm  II  233a,  II  329a  ("your  worming  brain"); 
Silkworm  II  [48b  ("to  spin  out  these  fine  things  still,  and,  like  a 
silkworm,  out  of  myself"),  so  281b;  Cobweb  I  168b,  251a,  294a, 
II  6b,  125b. 


142  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Birds  (cf.  also  Hawking  p.  148  infra):  I  149a  ("  your  hooked 
talons"),  364a  (bird-eyed),  II  72a  ("Mammon.  The  whole  nest 
are  fled!  Lovewit.  What  sort  of  birds  were  they?"  etc.),  238b, 
226a  (bird  and  cage;  so  379b),  332b  ("  the  whole  covey  is  scat- 
tered;" cf.  409b);  Birds  of  Prey  I  342a,  II  295b;  Wildfowl  II 
67a;  Eagle  I  247a  ("Virtue,  whose  brave  eagle's  wings,  With 
everv  stroke  blow  stars  in  burning  heaven"),  cf.  II  19b;  Vulture 
I  237b  ("to  be  tired  on  by  yond  vulture"),  259b,  308a  II  329a; 
Kestrel  II  293a;  Hawk  II  332b,  279b  ("like  a  tame  hernsew"), 
164b  (goshawk);  Rook  I  67a,  72a,  425b;  Jackdaw  I  190b;   Raven 

I  283a;   Crow  I  428b,  II  95a,  403b;   Buzzard  II  355a;  Owl  I  428b, 

II  100b,  342b;  Screech  owl  II  122a,  364b:  Peacock  II  337  (cock- 
brained):  Dove  I  428b,  II  73b,  379b,  495a5  Lapwing  I  246a, 
325a,  II  309a;  Partridge  I  382b;  II  185a  ("Was  there  ever  green 
plover  so  pulled!");  II  52a  ("  a  delicate  dabchick  ");  Cuckoo  I 
461b;  Sparrow  II  333a;  Wren  I  145b;  Goldfinch  I  180a;  Swallow 

I  247a  ("  that  virtue  ....  Should,  like  a  swallow,  preying 
towards  storms,  Fly  close  to  earth,  and  with  an  eager  plume,  Pur- 
sue those  objects  which  none  else  can  see,"  etc.),  362a  ("  Turn 
short  as  doth  a  swallow  "). 

Wild  Animals:  II  514b  (To  affect  meekness  among  ene- 
mies is  "As  if  with  lions,  Bears,  tigers,  wolves,  and  all  those 
beasts  of  prey,  He  would  affect  to  be  a  sheep  ! ") ;     Lion  I  304b, 

II  139b  ("ran  .  .  .  Into  our  battle,  like  a  Libyan  lion  Upon  his 
hunters"),  II  53b;  Bear  II  332a  ("he  will  live  like  .  .  .  a  bear, 
with  licking  his  own  claws");  Hyena  I  383b;  Wolf  I  246a,  290a 
(Sir,  wolves  do  change  their  hair,  but  not  their  hearts"),  298a, 
299b  ("Excellent  wolf!  Now  he  is  full,  he  howls"),  310b,  387a, 
398a;  Fox  I  23b,  325b  II  395b  ("your  fox  [i.  e.  your  sword] 
there,  Unkennelled  with  a  choleric,  ghastly  aspect,  .  .  .  Would 
run  their  fears  to  any  hole  of  shelter");  Buffalo  I  380b;  Rhi- 
noceros I  152a;  Camel  I  24b,  67b  (They,  "like  galled  camels, 
kick  at  every  touch"),  285a;  Monkey,  Ape,  etc.  I  40b,  209b, 
363b,  II  240b;  Marmoset  I  168a,  171b;  Baboon  I  189a,  443b, 
II  9b;  Polecat  II  26a,  165b,  (cf.  446b);  Mammet  II  73b;  Stote 
II  446b;  Squirrel  I  80a  ("  they'll  leap  from  one  thing  to  another 
like   a   squirrel");   Mole   I    195a,   419b;   Bat   II  363b;   Mouse  II 


BEN  JONSON.  143 

83a  (dormice),  348b,  342b  (reremice),  363b;  Rat  II  291a. 
328b,  I  283a  (courtiers  =  palace-rats  ;  so  II  324a);  Cormorant  I 
124b. 

Domestic  Animals:  Cat  I  318b,  II  122b,  329b  ("She  is 
cat-lived  and  squirrel-limbed");  Goat  I  358b  ("goatish  eyes"); 
Swine  I  114b,  II  166a  (sow);  Sheep  I  59a,  II  1  55a  (cosset),  164b 
(lamb),  442b  (bellwether),  486  (wool  from  English  flocks);  Cattle 

I  164a  ("all  the  ladies  and  gallants  lie  languishing  upon  the 
rushes,  like  so  many  pounded  cattle  in  the  midst  of  harvest"),  I 
246a  (bellow),  421a  (heifer),  453b  (ox),  II  380a,  3i8a("  He's  chew- 
ing his  muses'  cud"),  II  453a  (calf);  Cream  II  369b;  Milk  I  342b, 
432a,  II  53b,  327b;  Yoke  II  85b,  113b;  Ass  I  225a,  253b,  II 
180a,  224b,  327a;  Mule  I  394a,  II  295b;  Horses  and  horseman- 
ship (see  in  general  the  part  of  Knockem  in  Earth.  Fair):  I  440a 
("What  a  neighing  hobby-horse  is  this!")  32b  ("have  translated 
begging  out  of  the  old  hackney-pace  to  a  fine  easy  amble"),  II 
262b  (gallop),  I  65a  ("check  his  spirit,  or  rein  his  tongue"),  302a 
(reins),  335  (snaffle);  I  91b  (husbands  to  treat  their  wives  like 
their  horses),  112a  ("his  head  hangs  so  heavily  over  a  woman's 
manger"),  148b  ("as  tender  as  the  foot  of  a  foundered  nag"), 
171b  (a  swaggering  coach-horse,  etc.),  215a  ("jaded  wits  that  run 
a  broken  pace  for  common  hire,"  etc.),  Stallion   I  436b,  II  167b, 

II  206b  ("  hinnying  sophistry"),  169b  ("a  dull  malt-horse"), 
235b  (harnessed),  469b  (weary  as  a  mill-horse);  Spur  II  9b  ; 
Dogs  I  90b  ("that  dog  called  chance"),  II  449a,  I  72a  (the  belly 
barks),  167a  ("  Traduce  by  custom  as  most  dogs  do  bark  "),  258b 
("  buffoon  barking  wits  "),  II  8b  ("  Leave  off  your  barking"),  II 
321a  (kennel);  Mongrel,  cur,  etc.  I  76a,  76b,  134a,  189b,  312a, 
II  5b  ;  Beagles  I  128a,  II  430a  ;  I  7b  ("  Like  to  the  eager  but  the 
generous  greyhound,  Who  ne'er  so  little  from  his  game  withheld. 
Turns  head  and  leaps  at  his  holder's  throat"),  I  62a  (Carlo  Buf- 
fone  is  "a  good  feast-hound,  or  banquet-beagle,  that  will  scent 
you  out  a  supper  some  three  miles  off"),  115a  ("a  good  blood- 
hound, a  close-mouthed  dog,  he  follows  the  seen  I  well"),  300a 
("Two  of  Sejanus'  bloodhounds,  whom  he  breeds  With  human 
flesh,  to  bay  at  citizens");  Ban-dogs  I  86a,  228b;  Mastiffs  I 
329a  ("like  so  many  mastiffs,  biting  stones"),  II  9a. 


144  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Fabulous  Natural  History:  Adamant  I  93a,  II  49b;  Aconite 
I  304a;  I  276a  ("true  as  turquoise  in  the  dear  lord's  ring,  Look 
well  or  ill  with  him");  Phcenix  II  48b  ("To  burn  in  this  sweet 
flame  [of  love];  The  phcenix  never  knew  a  nobler  death"),  so 
349b;  Salamander  I  110a;  Basilisk  I  209a,  394a;  Cockatrice 
I  76a,  II  346b;  I  244a  ("a  panther  whose  unnatural  eyes  Will 
strike  thee  dead"),  372a  (panther's  breath;  sol  192b);  Crocodile's 
tears  I  369b,  II  377a;  II  19b  ("renew  him,  like  an  eagle"); 
Unicorn's  horn  I  133a  (cf.  37.2a);  II  107a  ("A  serpent,  ere  he 
comes  to  be  a  dragon,  Does  eat  a  bat ;"  cf.  Gifford's  note),  212 
("must  all  run  into  one,  Like  the  young  adders,  at  the  old  one's 
mouth!")  I  227b  ("I  am  seized  on  here  By  a  land  remora  ;  I 
cannot  stir"),  so  II  403b. 

MAN  AND  HUMAN  LIFE:      I  357a  (Life  a  pilgrimage). 

The  Arts  and  Learning:  I  372b  ("to  score  up  sums  of  pleas- 
ure"); II  257a  ("hell  is  A  grammar-school  to  this"),  Grammar 
and  logic  II  51b,  52a  ("the  grammar  and  logic  And  rhetoric  of 
quarrelling"),  375a  ("  Most  manly  uttered  all!  As  if  Achilles 
had  the  chair  in  valor,  And  Hercules  were  but  a  lecturer"),  396a 
(grammarians'  souls  are  nought  but  a  syntaxis  of  words);  I  199a 
("like  a  circle  bounded  in  itself"),  II  353b  ("I  fear  a  taint  here 
in  the  mathematics.  They  say  lines  parallel  do  never  meet;  He 
has  met  his  parallel  in  wit  and  Schoolcraft  "),1  508b  ("  Why  do 
you  so  survey  and  circumscribe  me,  As  if  you  stuck  one  eye  into 
my  breast,  And  with  the  other  took  my  whole  dimensions?"), 
Burning  glass  II  50a.  Books  and  printing  I  93b  (a  fashion  "of 
the  last  edition"),  96a  ("a  whole  volume  of  humor,  and  worthy 
the  unclasping"),  161a  ("all  his  behaviors  are  printed,  his  face  is 
another  volume  of  essays"),  323a,  II  373a  ("A  printed  book 
without  a  blot");  I  109a  (tobacco  taken  as  a  parenthesis);  II 
344a  (degree  at  Tyburn,  laureate,  etc.),  II  377b  (to  read  and 
decipher). 

Music:  I  48a  (musicians);  II  375a  (music);  In  tune,  har- 
mony, etc.  I  70b,  I  118a,  195b,  216a,  386a,  II  261a,  343b;  To 
play  on  I  27a,  70b;  Chime  II  350b,  355a;  To  run  division 
I    110a;   II    267a   ("You   had  some   strain   'Bove  e-la? "),   I  430a 

*Cf.  Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  V  335. 


BEN JONSON.  M5 

(barber's  citterns);  I  25a ("my  wind-instruments"),  I  7ob("vond 
sackbut"),  159a  (sackbut);   Music  of  the   spheres  I  151,  II  508a. 

Painting  and  Sculpture:  I  65a  ("my  soul  Was  never 
ground  into  such  oily  colors  To  flatter  vice  and  daub  iniquity  "), 
I  188a  (to  play  the  painter),  289b  ("darkly  set  As  shadows  are  in 
pictures,  to  give  height  And  lustre  to  themselves  "),  I  248b  ("hol- 
low statues  which  the  best  men  are"),  I  407b  (the  city  statues). 

Law:  I  215b  ("There's  .  .  .  A  supersedeas  to  your  melan- 
choly"),  2 1 6a  ("Julia's  love  Shall  be  a  law,"  etc.),  444a  ("  take  the 
mortgage  of  my  wit  ").  II  1  2b  (assumpsit),  342a  (libel),  328b  (con- 
science=a  thousand  witnesses);  Seal  I  197a  ("Thy  presence 
broad-seals  our  delights  "),  II  85a,  225a;  I  372b  ("that  unhappy 
crime  of  nature,  Which  you  miscall  my  beauty");  Rack  and  tor- 
ture I  67a,  321b,  II  196a. 

Government,  etc.  I  453a  ("  the  kingdom  or  commonwealth 
of  ladies'  affections");   I   373a  (rebellion   of    the   blood);   State 

I  195b,  Empire  II  243b. 

Medical  :  I  395b  ("  he  must  now  Help  to  sear  up  this  vein,  or 
we  bleed  dead"),  II  374a  (remedy),  495a  (dose);  Medicine,  physic, 
etc.  I  387b,  II  4b,  37a,  254a,  I  67b  ("all  physic  of  the  mind"), 
219b,  282a,  345b,  II  493a,  I  68b  (pills),  78a,  122a  (drug);  Cure  I 
71b,  II  4b,  377b  ;  Purge  I  68b,  II  101b  ("  to  purge  sick  Rome  "), 
295a;  Diseases  and  Wounds  I  338a  (wound),  so  71b,  441a,  II 
86a,  95a,  413a,  I  220a  (to  search  a  wound),  so  II  490b,  II  268b 
("  a  scar  upon  our  names  ");  II  176a  (to  be  infected  with  the  dis- 
ease of  poetry),  I  222a,  258b,  344b,  II  374a;  1 19b  (like  a  pestilence), 

II  105a  (sickness);  Fever  I  227b,  364a,  398a  ("These  possess 
wealth  as  sick  men  possess  fevers"),  II  120b;  Ulcers  I  202b, 
II  324a;  Leprosy  I  66b  ("  Plagued  with  an  itching  leprosy  of 
wit  ;"  cf.  156b),  262a;  I  123b  ("  his  disease  is  nothing  but  the  flux 
of  apparel");  Itch  I  414a,  418b  ;  I  202a  (medicines,  maladies, 
etc.);  Physician  and  patient  I  68b,  167a;  Infect  I  19b,  II  176a, 
324a;  Anatomy  I  115a,  67b,  98a;  Horse-leech  I  239b,  311b,  II 
162b,  289b. 

Various  Estates  and  Occupations:  I  111b  ("he's  like  the  zany 
to  a  tumbler");  Slave  I  246b,  276b,  II  84b,  I  320a  (captive); 
Rebel  II  102a;   Thief   I    197a,  II    94a  ;   Picklock   II   180a,  410a  ; 


146  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Usher  I  242b  ;  Rabbi  II  368b  ;  Heirs  II  84a  ;  Prodigals  II  127a  ; 
Barber  I  425a  ;  II  374b  (Patience,  magnanimity,  etc.,  are  the 
waiting-maids  of  valor);1  II  504b  (the  nightingale  =  the  angel, 
i.  e.  messenger  of  spring  —  from  Sappho);  II  173b  (husbandman, 
pilot,  shepherd,  constable,  etc.);  I  407b  ("gilders  will  not  work, 
but  inclosed  ") ;  II  94a  (beauty  locked  up  "  Like  a  fool's  treasure") ; 
1 1 8a  ("  The  shop  and  mint  of  your  conspiracy  ");  469b  ("  We  are 
like  men  that  wander  in  strange  woods  "). 

Trades  and  Practical  Arts :  II  107b  ("I'll  trust  you  with  the 
stuff  you  have  to  work  on  ;  You'll  form  it"). 

Merchants,  Trade,  etc.:  I  4b  ("Oft  sells  his  reputation  at 
cheap  market"),  51b  ("have  I  forstalled  your  honest  market?"), 
419b  ("Was  there  ever  such  a  two  yards  of  knighthood  measured 
out  by  time,  to  be  sold  to  laughter?");  Buy  I  156a,  II  115b;  II 
247a  (to  put  out  to  use);  II  392a  ("  the  poetic  shop  "),  1 18a  ;  II 
422a  ("a  wife  Which  since  is  proved  a  cracked  commodity;  She 
hath  broke  bulk  too  soon"). 

Building:  I  19b  ("The  houses  of  the  brain");2  284a 
("Temples  and  statues,  reared  in  your  minds  ");  To  build  II  48b, 
80a,  113b;  II  81a  ("He  that,  building,  stays  at  one  Floor,  or 
the  second,  hath  erected  none  "),  83b  ("  the  porch  of  life  "),  366a 
(simile  of  the  traveler  and  the  palace — 611.),  393b  (the  portal  or 
entry,  "  according  to  Vitruvius  ");  10 ia  (a  bridge  of  "  the  heads 
Of  men  struck  down  like  piles"),  129b  (the  bridge  of  state); 
Hinge  I  397a  ("All's  on  the  hinge"),  424b,  II  54a,  114b.  Well- 
timbered  I  71a  ("a  well-timbered  fellow,  he  would  have  made  a 
good  column,  an  he  had  been  thought  on,  when  the  house  was 
a  building  "),  155b,  383a  ;  Cabinet  I  281a,  II  401b  ;  Closet  II  471a 
("  ope  the  closet  Of  his  devices  ").  Weaving  :  I  32b  ("  a  weaver 
of  language"),  294a  ("Their  faces  run  like  shittles ;  they  are 
weaving  Some  curious  cobweb  to  catch  flies"),  304a  ("thou  art 
.  .  .  Woven  in  our  design  "),  II  501a  ("  I  hae  that  wark  in  hand, 
That  web  upon  the  luime");  Spin  II  418a.  The  Potter's  Art 
II  427b  ;  Metal  Work  II  258b  ("  melt,  cast,  and  form  her,"  cf. 
II  87a);    Forge  I  132a,  293b,  303b,  II  423a  ;   I  36a  ("hammering 

'Cf.  Lyly,  II  176. 

2Cf.  the  Fairy  Queen,  II  ix,  —  The  House  of  Alma. 


BEN  JONSON.  147 

revenge");  Mink  I  450a,  cf.  362b  ;  Dyeing  I  22a  ("This  dye  [of 
sinj  goes  deeper  than  the  coat,  Or  shirt,  or  skin,"  etc.);  I  44b 
("  make  grist  of  you  "). 

Agriculture:  Harvest  I  349a  ("a  beauty  ripe  as  harvest"); 
Crop  I  380b,  II  93a  ;  Sow  and  Reap  II  299a  ("  My  man  of  law 
.  .  .  sows  all  my  strifes,  And  reaps  them  too  "),  328a,  97a  (to  sow 
and  reap  kisses),  so  238a  ("plant  and  gather  kisses");  1436a 
("  be  like  a  barren  field  that  yields  little"),  440a,  386b  (a  fruitful 
glebe);  II  247b  ;  II  226a  ("  I  lie  fallow  "),  281a  ;  II  472a  ("  I  am 
not  for  your  mowing"),  I  445b  ("  to  mow  you  off  at  the  knees  "), 
II  109b  ("all  else  cut  off  As  .  .  .  mowers  A  field  of  thistles  ;  or 
else  up,  as  plows  do  barren  lands,  and  strike  together  flints  And 
clods,  th'  ungrateful  senate  and  the  people");  173b  ("The 
husbandman  ought  not,  for  one  unthankful  year,  to  forsake  the 
plough  ");  II  241b  ("  Our  shop-books  are  our  pastures,  our  corn- 
grounds");  II  227a  ("I  have  considered  you  As  a  fit  stock  to 
graft  honors  upon");  I  338a  (simile  of  the  thresher  —  from 
Horace);  Furrows  I  338a. 

Ships  and  Sailors:  Ship  of  State  II  97b,  99a  (10  11.),  128a; 
II  277  ("steer  the  souls  of  men  As  with  a  rudder");  I  68b 
("bear  this  peremptory  sail"),  71a  ("when  his  belly  is  well 
ballaced,  and  his  brain  rigged  a  little,  he  sails  away  withal"),  76a 
("to  sink  this  hulk  of  ignorance"),  cf.  96b,  230b;  I  4b  ("  Not 
that  vour  sail  be  bigger  than  your  boat  ;  But  moderate  your 
expenses  ");  To  sail  II  184b  ("  he  comes  down  sailing  that  way  all 
alone  "),  222b,  232b  ;  II  107a  ("wings  as  large  as  sails  ");  II  300a 
("She  is  not  rigged,  sir;  setting  forth  some  lady  Will  cost  as 
much  as  furnishing  a  fleet.  Here  she  is  come  at  last,  and  like  a 
galley,  Gilt  in  the  prow"),  372b  ("  Let  his  wife  be  stript.  Blow 
off  her  upper  deck.  Tear  all  her  tackle"),  cf.  404a;  II  509b 
("You  must  be  wary,  and  pull  in  your  sails"),  379a  ("She  is  set 
forth  in't,  rigged  for  some  employment  ....  'Tis  a  fine  tack 
about  ?");  II  120b  ("  shipwrecked  minds  ");  II  423b  ("  I  have  run 
my  bark  On  a  sweet  rock  .  .  .  And  must  get  off  again,  or  dash 
in  pieces  ");  Pilot  II  173b  ("  the  pilot  ought  not,  for  one  leak  in 
the  poop,  to  quit  the  helm"),  510a;  Embark  II  103b,  260a;  I 
103a  ("  He  may  hap  lose  his  tide  "). 


148  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Sports,  Amusements,  etc.:  Games,  etc.  I  112a  ("like  a  pawn 
at  chess;  [he]  fills  up  a  room");  Primero  I  165a,  367a  II 
261a;  Gambling  I  393a,  436a,  II  261b;  Dice  II  138a,  149a; 
Cards  II  183b,  166b,  302b  ("like  the  knave  of  clubs"),  316a, 
344b  (the  world  like  a  game  of  cards,  5  11.);  II  237b  (a  well- 
torned  chin,  like  a  billiard  ball );  I  455a  (jugglers);  Leap-frog  II 
149a;  Wrestling  II  190b;  Tennis  II  316a;  Level  coil  II  461a 
(cf.  Gifford's  note);  Angling  II  31b  ("Has  he  bit?  .  .  .  And 
swallowed  too  ...  I  have  given  him  line,  and  now  he  plays," 
etc.),  326a,  428b  ;  Bait  and  Hook  I  238b,  292a,  346b,  310b,  II 
306b,  471a,  171b.  Hunting,  etc.  (cf.  "Dogs,"  above  p.  143)  I 
19a  ("  She  has  me  in  the  wind  "),  so  292a  ;  II  150b  ("  Have  you 
ta'en  soil  here  ?");  I  292a  ("They  hunt.  There  is  some  game  here 
lodged,"  etc.),  II  303b  ("  You  hunt  upon  a  wrong  scent  still  "), 
455b  ("to  hunt  counter  thus,  and  make  these  doubles");  To 
decoy,  to  stalk,  etc.  I  302a,  II  231b  ;  I  27b  (tracking  hares),  II 
26a  (snaring  hares),  469b  ;  To  lime  twigs  I  190b,  II  187b  ;  I  22b 
("lam  fleshed  now"),  so  384b;  Hawking  and  Falconry  I 
443b  (to  hawk  at),  II  355b  ;  Seeled  II  84b,  95a  ;  To  stoop  at,  to 
souse  II  73b,  261a  ("  I  think  I  soused  him,  And  ravished  her 
away  out  of  his  pounces  "),  371b  ("  every  stoop  he  made  Was  like 
an  eagle's  at  a  flight  of  cranes"),  440b  ;  To  fly  to  mark,  to  fly  at, 
II  179b,  304b,  342b,  361a,  376b,  413a,  514a. 

Domestic  Life  :  Nurse  II  34b  ("deal  like  a  rough  nurse,  and 
fright  Those  that  are  froward,  to  an  appetite"),  120b,  154b;  II 
286a  ("it  shows  Wit  had  married  Order");  II  375b  ("like  chil- 
dren We  are  made  afraid  with  vizors");  Relationship  II  407b 
("My  monies  are  my  blood,  my  parents,  kindred");  Child  or 
Infant  I  334,  II  341a  (brain-child);  Daughter  11477b;  Mother  I 
363b  ("  Admit  your  fool's  face  be  the  mother  of  laughter  "),  II 
103b,  104a,  105a;  Step-dame  II  48b  (Nature  a  step-dame),  80b, 
87b;  Father  II  318b;  Dowry  I  409b  ("her  silence  is  dowry 
enough  "),  421a,  441a,  II  383b;  Wean  I  3a,  175b. 

Dress  and  Ornament  :  I  88b  ("she  speaks  as  she  goes  tired, 
in  cobweb-lawn,  light,  thin  "),  198b  (folds,  plaits,  etc.),  165b  (a 
grogran  rascal);  II  394b  ("a  good  play  is  like  a  skein  of  silk," 
etc.),  cf.  373a,  328a  ("the  unwinding  this  so  knotted  skein  ");  II 


BEN JONSON.  149 

344b  ("To  be  wrapt  soft  and  warm  in  fortune's  smock");  I  170b 
(to  embroider  discourse);  Apparel  I  170b;  To  clothe  I  151b  ("I 
have  but  one  poor  thought  to  clothe  In  airy  garments "),  156b 
(muffled  thought);  Fustian  1  70b,  99a,  144b,  147b;  1°  truss 
points  I  184a  ('•  trussing  all  the  points  of  this  action  "),  190b;  Cos- 
metics and  toilet  I  148b;  Mask,  vizor,  etc.  I  290a,  381b,  418a,  II 
38b.  100b,  375b,  377b;  Veil  I  195a,  246b;  Rags  I  335,  II  194a, 
349b  ("Be  still  that  rag  of  love  You  are;  burn  on  till  you  turn 
tinder  "),  415b  (clouts);  Starched  1  73a,  168a;  Strait-laced  II  156b. 

Jewels,  Gems,  etc.  I  15b,  69a,  125a,  216a,  222b,  453b,  II 
401a  ("A  chrysolite,  a  gem,  the  very  agate  Of  state  and  policy, 
cut  from  the  quar  Of  Machiavel,"  etc.),  454a;  Brooch  I  213b,  so  II 
310b,  256a;   Foil,  Lustre,  etc.,  I  28a,  305b,  453b. 

Colloquial  and  Familiar  Images  are  very  frequent  in  Jonson's 
comedies.  The  most  noteworthy  are  as  follows:  I  4b  ("to  be 
left  like  an  unsavory  snuff  "),  9b  ("  this  man  !  so  graced,  gilded, 
or,  to  use  a  more  fit  metaphor,  so  tin-foiled  by  nature,"  etc.),  27a 
(Stephen  is  like  a  drum  or  child's  whistle,  "every  one  may  play 
upon  him  "),  32b  ("  made  it  run  as  smooth  off  the  tongue  as  a 
shove-groat  shilling  "),*  42b  ("it  vanished  away  like  the  smoke 
of  tobacco"),  54a  (like  an  artichoke),  t»8a  ("  now  and  then  breaks 
a  dry  biscuit  jest,"  etc.),  cf.  130a  ("  like  a  dry  crust"),  72b  ("I 
am  like  your  tailor's  needle"),  73a  ("look  with  a  good  starched 
face,  and  ruffle  your  brow  like  a  new  boot  "),  76a  ("  he  looks  like 
a  musty  bottle  new  wickered,  his  head's  the  cork,  light,  light!" — 
cf.  147b),  79b  ("  He  looks  like  .  .  .  one  of  these  motions  [puppets] 
in  a  great  antique  clock  ");  80a  ("  will  run  over  a  bog  like  your  wild 
Irish");  82a  ("he  looks  like  a  fresh  salmon  kept  in  a  tub;  he'll 
be  spent  shortly  "),  82b  ("  When  he  is  mounted  he  looks  like  the 
sign  of  the  George  "),2  84b  ("  as  it  he  went  in  a  frame  or  had  a  suit 
of  wainscot  on  "),  90a  ("  the  actors  come  in  one  by  one,  as  if  they 
were  dropt  down  with  a  feather  into  the  eye  of  the  spectators"), 
114b  ("holding  his  snout  up  like  a  sow  under  an  apple  tree  "),3 
115a  ("he   walks  up   and   down   like  a  charged   musket"),  132b 

«Cf.  //.  Henry  IV,  II   iv  182. 
2Cf.  Chapman,  83a. 
^Cf.  Greene,  169a. 


150  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

("  lean  ribs  .  .  .  like  ragged  laths  "),  1 33b  ("  he  looks  like  an  image 
carved  out  of  box,  full  of  knots;  his  face  is,  for  all  the  world,  like 
a  Dutch  purse,  with  the  mouth  downward,  his  beard  the  tassels  "), 
i6ia("He  speaks  all  cream  skimmed"  .  .  .  "He  is  no  great 
shifter;  once  a  year  his  apparel  is  ready  to  revolt"),  157b  (a 
crowd  greater  "  than  come  to  the  launching  of  some  three  ships  "), 
1 6 ib  ("  His  eyes  and  his  raiment  confer  much  together  as  he  goes 
in  the  street.  He  treads  nicely  like  the  fellow  that  walks  upon 
ropes  "),  1 68b  ('•  Then  walks  off  melancholic,  and  stands  wreathed, 
As  he  were  pinned  up  to  the  arras"),  172a  ("there's  one  speaks 
in  a  key,  like  the  opening  of  some  justice's  gate,  or  a  postboy's 
horn"),  172a  (a  face  like  a  sea-monster),  172b  ("His  face  is  like  a 
squeezed  orange  "),  195a  ("  What  mere  gilt  blocks  You  are  "),  225a 
("jests  As  hard  as  stones")  236b  ("you  shall  have  kisses  from 
them,  go  pit-pat,  pit-pat,  pit-pat,  upon  your  lips,  as  thick  as  stones 
out  of  slings  at  the  assault  of  a  city  "),  283a  ("  he  permits  himself 
Be  carried  like  a  pitcher  by  the  ears,  To  every  act  of  vice  "),  338a 
("  swallow  A  melting  heir  as  glibly  as  your  Dutch  Will  pills  of 
butter  "),  342b  ("  I  have  milked  their  hopes  "),  357a  ("  seats  your 
teeth,  did  they  dance  like  virginal  jacks");1  366b  ("The  bells  in 
time  of  pestilence,  ne'er  made  Like  noise"),  379b  ("your  husband 
told  me  you  were  fair,  And  so  you  are;  only  your  nose  inclines,  That 
side  that's  next  the  sun,  to  the  queen-apple  "),  393a  ("some  would 
swell  now,  like  a  wine-fat,  With  such  an  autumn  "),  396b  ("  his 
eyes  are  set,  Like  a  dead  hare's  hung  in  a  poulter's  shop  "),  438a 
("  She  takes  herself  asunder  still  when  she  goes  to  bed,  into  some 
twenty  boxes;  and  about  next  day  noon  is  put  together  again, 
like  a  great  German  clock,"  etc.),  441b  ("  labor  not  to  stop  her. 
She  is  like  a  conduit  pipe,  that  will  gush  out  with  more  force 
when  she  opens  again"),  cf.  23b.  Vol.  II  pp.  12a  ("spit  out 
secrets  like  hot  custard  "),  40b  ("  six  great  slops  Bigger  than  three 
Dutch  hoys  "),  46a  ("What  shall  we  do  with  this  same  puffin  here 
Now  he's  on  the  spit  ?  "),  53a  ("  He  looks  in  that  deep  ruff  like  a 
head  in  a  platter,"  etc.),  122b  (to  ring  hollow),  169a  (a  loud  voice 
like  the  "  mouth  of  a  peck  "),  166b  ("  Every  rib  of  them  is  like  the 
tooth  of  a  saw"   cf.    I  132b),  205b  ("I  have   gaped  as   the  oyster 

1  Cf.  Chapman,  124a. 


BEN JONSON.  151 

for  the  tide"),'  238b  ("Away,  you  broker's  block,  you  prop- 
erty !  "),  255a  ("  keeps  the  skin  .  .  .  ever  bright  and  smooth  As  any 
looking-glass  "),  255b  ("  I  saw  in  the  court  of  Spain  once,  A  lady 
fall  in  the  king's  sight  along,  And  there  she  lay,  flat  spread,  as  an 
umbrella"),  257a  ("laugh  as  loud  as  a  larum  "),  283b  ("  there 
the  molten  silver  Runs  out  like  cream  on  cakes  of  gold,  And 
rubies  do  grow  like  strawberries"),  300b  ("Thy  beard  is  like  a 
broom  "),  304a  ("  I  move  upon  my  axle  like  a  turnpike  "),  308a 
("There  is  a  ninepence,  I  will  shed  no  more"),  32oa("  I  shall  see 
you  quoited  Over  the  bar,  as  bargemen  do  their  billets  "),  332a 
("as  thin  as  a  lanthorn,  we  shall  see  through  him  "),  342b  ("  He 
prates  Latin  An  it  were  a  parrot  or  a  play  boy"),  353b  ("Spins 
like  the  parish  top"),  cf.  463b;  379a  (clothes  that  fit  "Like  a 
caparison  for  a  sow  "),  380a  ("  Sheelee-nien  Thomas  Runs  like  a 
heifer  bitten  with  the  brize  "),  406b  ("  I  find  where  your  shoe 
wrings  you  "),  408a  ("  Wealth  .  .  .  makes  a  trade  to  take  the  wall  of 
virtue");1  see  also  I  48a,  71a,  159a,  164a,  166a,  425a,  II  38b, 
151b,  160b,  1 6 ib  166b,  179a,  183b,  188a,  276b,  293b,  300,  318a, 
343a,  345b,  373a,  444b,  463b,  474b,  498b,  etc.  I  6b  (batch),  393a 
(leaven),  II  1 17b. 

Note  also  the  Puritan  cant  of  Ananias,  Tribulation,  etc.,  e.  g. 
II  71b,  150  f.,  181,  etc.,  passim. 

Coarse  and  Repulsive  Images  are  frequent  in  Ben  Jonson  as  in 
Chapman. 

Metaphors  of  Birth  and  the  like  :  I  44a,  75a,  104b,  128a, 
150a,  171a,  174b,  200a,  292b,  II  84a,  223b,  276a,  464b.  Sim- 
ilarly I  31a,  341b,  389b,  II  183a;  I  181b,  283a,  II  276a,  286b;  I 
407a  (the  adulteries  of  art);  II  215a,  344a;  325a. 

Bawd,  strumpet,  etc.,  I  76a,  II  85b,  285b;  I  156b,  II  226b; 
316a  ("  That  money-bawd  "),  Fortune  a  bawd  I  76b,  II  355b,  455a. 

In  general  see  also  :  I  265b  (garbage),  282b  (slime);  Dung- 
hill, etc.,  I  23a,  78b,  106b,  249b,  265b,  312b,  II  27b,  323b;  I 
1 08a  ("rince  his  cammy  guts  in  beer"),  II  1 10b  (dregs),  I  140a  (the 

*  Cf.  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  BonJuca    I   ii : 

"Did   I   not   find  thee  gaping  like  an  oyster 
For  a  new  tide  ?  " 

*Cf.  Lylyl  69. 


I52  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

London  sewer),  212a  ("  blow  your  ears  with  these  untrue  reports), 
236b  (ears  furred  with  the  breath  of  compliments),  445b  ("that 
sword  hath  spawned  such  a  dagger  "),  II  24b  ("somewhat  costive 
of  belief;  "  so  295a);  409a  (bugs);  see  also  I  348b,  II  21a,  37a, 
151b,  245b,  281a,  316a.  See  also  various  passages  of  billingsgate 
and  opprobrious  epithets,  passim,  e.  g.  I  75b,  76,  106b,  130b, 
145,  214a,  382b,  II  61a,  296b,  353b,  381a,  etc. 

The  Body,  its  Parts,  Functions,  and  Attributes  :  Bosom  I  77b 
("lies  he  hid  Within  the  wrinkled  bosom  of  the  world"),  cf.  II 
508a  ("in  the  lap  of  listening  nature");  I  280a  (the  heart  and 
face  of  his  designs);  II  120b  ("veins  and  bowels  of  the  state"); 
II  279a  ("Thy  pulse  hath  beat  enough"  [to  his  watch]);  Womb 
II  302a;  Bowels,  etc.  I  140a  ("The  hallowed  bowels  of  the  silver 
Thames"),  II  Sob,  86a,  100a  (to  stomach),  120b;  Head  II  136a; 
Eye  I  317b,  412a  (London  the  eye  of  England);  Face  I  280a, 
288a;  Finger  I  418b  ("Fortune  had  not  a  finger  in't");  Throat 
I  438b  (the  brazen  throat  of  a  trumpet);  Sinews  II  97b;  Ribs  II 
83a  (of  ice),  86a;  WTrinkle  I  77b,  149b;  Hug  II  367b  (to  hug 
time);  Kiss  I  237a  ("kiss  heaven  with  their  titles"),  II  507b; 
Lame  I  165a;  Sleep  II  105a,  369b. 

The  Senses  and  Appetites:  II  508b  ("the  touches  or  soft 
strokes  of  reason"),  cf.  I  277a,  Tickle  I  109b,  289a;  Scents, 
Odors,  etc.  I  298a,  313a,  384a,  386a,  II  152a;  Food  and  Taste 
I  23a,  83b  (the  syrup  of  the  jest),  237b  (sugared),  172b  ("The  very 
march-pane  of  the  court"),  44b,  71b,  145b,  147a,  151a,  150b, 
(hunger),  II  283b  (strawberries,  cakes  and  cream),  340;  I  387b 
("a  rare  meal  of  laughter"),  404a;  Feast,  Banquet,  etc.  I  300a, 
390a,  420b,  II  9b,  359a,  367a,  515a;  Diet  II  345b;  Batten  I 
347a,  II  464a  (fatted);  Surfeit,  glut,  etc.  I  91b,  250b,  289b,  II 
367a;  Eat  II  89b,  109b,  I  459b  (to  eat  one's  words);  Digest  I 
258b;  Vomit  I  159b,  246a,  II  8a;  Thirst  I  151a,  289b;  Drink  I 
71a;  Spice  and  seasoning  II  374b  (salt  and  its  savor),  I  244b, 
318b,  398b,  II  344a,  374b. 

Subjective  Life,  Religion,  etc.  Heaven  I  173a,  370a;  Purga- 
tory I  433b;  Hell  I  173a,  363b,  II  280a;  Devil  I  116b,  188b, 
389a ;  Spirits,  to  haunt,  etc.  I  38a  (they  haunt  him  like  spirits), 
iooa("his   familiar  that  haunts  him"),  147a;   Conjuring,  witch- 


BEN  JON  SON.  153 

craft,  etc.  I  94b  ("your  good  face  is  the  witch  and  your  apparel 
the  spells,  that  bring  all  the  pleasures  of  the  world  into  their 
circle"),  1  79a,  246b  : 

"As  in  a  circle,  a  magician  then 
Is  safe  against  the  spirit  he  excites; 
But,  out  of  it,  is  subject  to  his  rage, 
And  loseth  all  the  virtue  of  his  art : 
So  I,  exiled  the  circle  of  the  court, 
Lose  all  the  good  gifts  that  in  it  I  'joyed," 

cf.  248a,  359a,  II  41b,  223b,  282a,  II  348b  ("Stalk  like  a  ghost, 
that  haunted  'bout  a  treasure"),  509b;  Superstitions  I  138a 
("has  the  wolf  seen  you"),  II  19a  (fire-drake),  347b  (fern-seed); 
Fairy-lore  I  140b,  149a  (charm),  454a,  II  448b  ("Dance  o'er  the 
fields  like  faies");  Incubus  II  16 ia;  Prodigy  I  227b;  Alchemy 
(cf.  The  Alchemist,  passim)  I  72b,  95a  ("play  the  alchemist"),  II 
6b  (projection),  366b;  Perspective  Glass,  etc.  II  212,  237b, 
(cf.  341b);  Influence  of  the  Stars  I  213a,  410a,  II  317a. 
Religion,  etc.  II  376a: 

"There's  nought  so  sacred  with  us  but  may  find 
A  sacrilegious  person,  vet  the  thing  is 
No  less  divine,  'cause  the  profane  can  reach  it."  .  .  . 

"They  that  do  pull  down  churches,  and  deface 
The  holiest  altars,  cannot  hurt  the  Godhead." 

II  367a  ("  Where  have  I  lived  in  heresy  so  long  Out  of  the 
congregation  of  love,  And  stood  irregular  by  all  his  canons  ?"), 
II  361b  (horses  =  "poor  dumb  Christians"),  II  379a  (hallowed), 
II  411a  ("a  recusant  In  sack");  cf.  412a,  II  422b  (Eve  and  the 
Apple);  Heresy  I  25b  ("self-love  burnt  for  her  heresy"),  435a, 
II  229b,  367a;  I  31b  ("martyrs  o'  the  girdiron");  Sacrilege  I 
195b;  Sacrifice  I  279b;  Shrine  I  337a;  Altar  and  Idol  I  373a, 
II  38b,  55b,  373b;  Miracle  I  370a,  II  50a;  Oracle  II  295b,  376a, 
406a;  Saint  I  337,  II  220b;  Soul  I  337a. 

Death,  the  Grave,  etc.  Death  I  388b  ("Now  their  hopes 
Are  at  the  gasp");  Buried  I  30b,  334,  249b  ("this  grave  of 
sin"),  306b,  338a  (coffin),  II  383a  (coffined);  1  375a  (sepulchre), 
391b  ("the  funeral  of  your  notes");  I  156b  ("Floats,  like  a  dead 
drowned  bodv,  on  the  stream  Of  vulgar  humour"),  11  122a  {Cat- 
iline—  "I  will  not  burn  Without  my  funeral  pile"). 


154  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

War:  cf.  II  317a.  See  the  parts  of  Bobadil,  Captain  Tucca, 
etc.  passim.  Siege,  Fort,  etc.  I  201b  ("thorns  lie  in  garrison 
about  the  roses"),  236b,  282b,  II  282b,  283a;  II  94a  (artillery), 
126b  ("the  train  hath  taken");  Civil  War  II  6b,  139a;  II  41a 
(entrenched),  156b  ("suffer  not  the  enemy  to  enter  you"),  376a 
("He  is  shot-free  in  battle  is  not  hurt,  Not  he  that  is  not  hit"); 

I  128b  ("at  the  tilt  of  all  the  court-wits");  I  18b  ("such  strong 
motives  muster  and  make  head"),  24a  ("faces  about  to  some 
other  discourse"),  76a  ("you  should  have  turned  your  broadside 
...  to  sink  this  hulk  of  ignorance  .  .  .  "),  76a  ("his  spirit  is  like 
powder,  quick,  violent ;  I  fear  him  worse  than  a  rotten  wall  does 
the  cannon  —  shake  an  hour  after  at  the  report");  Arms,  etc.  I 
I3ib-i32a  ("three  of  our  ordnance  are  burst,"  etc.),  313b 
(armed),  253a;  I  i49a-b  (a  duel  of  wit).  Heraldry  I  162a 
("  What,  lay  color  upon  color!  that  affords  but  an  ill  blazon"). 
Archery,  etc.  II  350b  ("shoot  bolts  and  sentences  To  affright 
babies  with  !"),  I  108b  ("her  brain's  a  very  quiver  of  jests,"  etc.); 
213a,  362a,  II  333b,  359a;   I  162a  (to  dart). 

The  Stage  and  the  Drama  :  Tragedy  I  74b,  240a,  312a,  II  58b  ; 
Motion  or  Puppet  Show  I  68a,  156b,  234b  ("What's  he  .  .  .  that 
salutes   us  out  of  his  cloak,   like   a  motion,  ha?"),  255a,  cf.  79b, 

II  12b,  460b;  I  444a  ("here  will  I  act  such  a  tragi-comedy  "  .  .  . 
etc.);  I  296b  ("The  curtain's  drawing");  Epilogue  I  358a;  Pro- 
logue I  1 68a  ("repeats,  Like  an  imperfect  prologue,  at  third  music 
His  part  of  speeches"  .  .  .),  II  171a  ("  We  had  wonderful  ill  luck,  to 
miss  this  prologue  o'  the  purse  ;  but  the  best  is,  we  shall  have 
five  acts  of  him  ere  night");  I  366b  (noisy  as  the  Cockpit);  II 
376b  ("how  like  A  court  removing,  or  an  ended  plav,  Shews  my 
abrupt,  precipitate  estate");  II  379a  ("like  a  noble  poet,  to  have 
had  My  last  act  best");1  II  43b  ("You  shall  have  your  ordinaries 
bid  for  him  As  play-houses  for  a  poet");  II  82a  ("be  thrown  by, 
or  let  fall,  As  is  a  veil  put  off,  a  visor  changed,  Or  the  scene 
shifted  in  our  theatres");  II  99b  ("Would you  have  Such  an  Her- 
culean actor  in  the  scene,  And  not  his  hydra?  they  must  sweat 
no  less,  To  fit  their  properties,  than  to  express  their  parts");  II 
342b  ("he  prates  Latin  An  it   were  a  parrot,  or  a  play-boy");    II 

'Cf.  Webster  120a. 


BEX  JONSOA'.  155 

102b  ("it  so  far  exceeds  All  insolent  fictions  of  the  tragic  scene"); 
II  345a  ("All  the  world's  a  play"-  simile,  8  11.),'  so  II  350a; 
425b  ("No  theatres  are  more  cheated  with  appearances"). 

Miscellaneous:   Melt,   dissolve,  etc.    I    4b,    66a,   69a,    II    51b, 
441b  ("melting  as    the  weather  in   a  thaw!");    Mirror,  Glass,  etc. 

I  67b,  143,  150b,  II  255a,  325b,  348b,  365b,  410a  ("the  glass  of 
custom,  which  is  comedy,"  etc.);  Mould  II  465b,  cf.  87a,  I  66a, 
85a;  Colors:  I  37a;  Motley  I  95b,  154b;  Black  I  19b,  120b,  149b, 
275b,  330b,  II  115a,  1 1 8a,  139a;  White  I  92b  ("as  white  as 
innocence"),  255b;  Red  I  253a;  Green  II  337b;  Poison  I  19b, 
("black  poison  of  suspect"),  96a,  166b,  212b,  296a,  304b,  II  24a, 
81b,  95a,  100b,  128b,  135b;  Instrument,  Engine,  Organ,  I  72a, 
107b,    275a,    285b,    290a,    298a,    302a,    304a,    305b,    327a,   391a; 

II  nib  ("The  enginers  I  told  you  of  are  working,  The  machine 
'gins  to  move"),  232b  ("It  creaks  his  engine"),  305a,  328a,  329a, 
352b;  Coin,  Counterfeit  I  24a,  69a,  II  286a,  383b,  419b  ("light 
gold  —  And  cracked  within  the  ring");  Painted  I  244b,  306a  ; 
Swim  I  77b,  344a;  Drown  I  295a,  II  105a,  368a,  493a;  To  sound 
a  depth  I  291b  ;  Snare,  Springe,  Trap,  etc.,  II  357b  (net),  231b, 
436a,  I  309b,  395b,  II  175a  (springe),  471a,  II  41a  (fettered),  so 
317b;  Tie,  Tangle,  Knot  II  9b,  427b,  243b  ;  Whet,  Edge,  etc.  I  23a, 
149a  ("the  edge  of  my  wit  is  clean  taken  off  with  the  .  .  .  stroke 
of  your  thin-ground  tongue"),  193a,  387b,  II  117a  ("This  twenty 
davs  of  that  decree  We  have  let  dull  and  rust,"  etc.),  154b,  498a; 
Scourge,  whip,  etc.,  I  65b,  123b,  259a  (a  bastinado  of  words), 
328b;  Rip  I  275b;  Smother  II  333a,  461b;  To  weigh  in  bal- 
ance, etc.  I  454b,  II  109b  ("No  rage  .  .  .  May  weigh  with  yours, 
though  Horror  leaped  herself  Into  the  scale");  Weight,  Burden, 
etc.  I  296a,  II  98a,  I  161b,  307a  ;  I  197a  ("our  unspotted  fame"); 
Dial  I  83b,  Clock  I  161a  ("he  will  lie  louder  than  most  clocks"), 
194b,  276a  ("Observe  him,  as  his  watch  observes  his  clock"), 
438a,  II  402a;  Hourglass  I  28b  ("My  brain,  methinks,  is  like  an 
hour-glass.  Wherein  my  imaginations  run  like  sands,  Filling  up 
time,"  etc.);  Borrow  ("Convey,  the  wise  it  call"),  I  149a  ("to 
speak  by  metaphor,  vou  borrowed  a  girdle  of  hers");  Beam  11 
205a  (metaphorical  uses  of  the  word  distinguished);   Fireworks, 

■Cf.  Jonson's  "Discoveries"  (Works,  III  404). 


156  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

crackers,  etc.  I  130b,  179b,  II  12b,  Squib  I  189a,  II  53a;  Distil 
I  250a,  II  357b,  495b;  Height  I  331b  (pinnacles  of  state),  II 
136a;  II  349a  ("thereon  hangs  a  history");  Prop  I  246a,  291a; 
To  piece  I  406b,  II  251b  ("I  will  have  all  pieced,  And  friends 
again — It  will  be  but  ill-soldered!"),  411a. 

Almost  every  prominent  domain  of  nature  and  of  human 
life  is-drawn  upon  in  Ben  Jonson's  use  of  figure.  He  is  not  a 
deeply  metaphorical  writer,  nor  on  the  other  side 
does  he  fall  into  the  conventional  manner  of  using 
imagery;  but  with  an  even-handed  realism,  if  also  somewhat 
through  the  spectacle  of  books,  he  sees  life  steadily  and  he  sees 
it  whole.  Certain  sides  of  nature  and  of  human  life,  it  has 
already  been  noted,  he  emphasizes  to  a  high  degree.  Fire  is 
often  used  by  him  in  a  metaphorical  sense,  the  animal  world 
constantly  appears,  all  aspects  of  common  human  life  are  pre- 
sented ;  agriculture,  ships  and  sailing,  sports,  amusements,  and 
hunting,  domestic  life,  dress  and  ornament,  colloquial  images  with- 
out end,  a  large  number  of  coarse  and  repulsive  images,  man  with 
his  body  and  its  senses  and  appetites,  devils,  witchcraft  and  con- 
juring, religion,  classical  and  literary  coloring  in  profusion,  many 
references  to  the  stage  and  the  drama,  —  all  these  things  are 
largely  represented  in  Ben  Jonson's  pages.  It  is  the  complete 
life  of  the  times  in  its  humbler  and  more  familiar  phases. 
Nowhere,  outside  of  Dickens,  is  there  so  encyclopaedic  an  array 
for  any  period. 


TABLE  OF  TROPES  INDEXED 


157 


TABLE  BY  AUTHORS  AND  BY  TOPICS  OF  TROPES  INDEXED. 


No.  of  Plays  Indexed 

Total     number     of     pages 
(approximate) 


Aspects  of  Sky,  etc 

Aspects  of  Waters 

Aspects  of  Earth 

Various:  Times,  Seasons,  etc 

Vegetable  World 

Animal   World 

Fabulous  Nat.  History 


Total  Nature. 


Arts  and  Learning. 


Law  and  Government 

Medical 

Various  Occupations 

Trades,  Practical* Arts,  etc. 

Building,  etc 

Agriculture 

Ships  and  Sailors 

Sports  and  Amusements. . . 

Domestic  Life 

Dress  and  Adornment 

Colloquial,       Comic,       and 
Familiar  Tropes 

-    Coarse  &  Repulsive  Images 
The  Body,  its  Parts,  etc.  . 
The  Senses  and  Appetites 
Subjective  Life,  Religion, etc 

Death,  the  Grave,  etc 

War,  Arms,  etc 

The  Stage  and  the  Drama. 
M  iscellaneous 


Total  Man. 


Grand  Totals. 


Id 

a 

■s 

■j 

o 

a 

-1 

Id 

X 

a. 

< 

446 


50 

II 

32 

2 
29 
36 
67 


227 
16 

4 

3 

5 

17 


Cf. 

i2'5 

S  24 

31 

30 

8 

3 

12 

5 
67 


303    549 


50 

8 

1 
26 
36 

5 


93 

5 
14 

3 
14 
36 

4 


129     169 


14 

1 
2 


u 

z 

Id 

u 

o 


212 


17 


5 
12 

7 


41 


295 


21 
M 

5 

5 

17 
2 


64 


above  "Aspe 
2        13 
2 

9 


265 


492 


16 

i- 

5 
6 

36 


94 


223 


cts  of 

2 


24 

1 1 

36 

18 

10 
50 


2lS 


387 


10 


3 
13 


46 


1 1 
12 

4 
10 

5 
9 
2 

Waters" 


17 


7 

5 

8 

10 

20 


144 


87!     208 


1  j 


322    7 15 


69  155 

13  34 

19!  39 

6J  20 

30j  44 

105!  158 

26  14 


268 


464 


19 
12 

37 
24 
20 
16 
9 
15 
25 
11 

22 

16 
21 
10 
15 

45 
20 
18 
8 
70 


■■■■ 
o 


z 
o 


16 


1892 


100 
28 
46 

12 

41 
276 

23 


526 


433 


701 


66 

36 
56 
24 
25 
3i 
7 

13 
33 
22 

41 

61 
55 
39 
48 
60 
16 
64 
15 
154 


866 


44 
17 
62 

23 

27, 

21 
26 
61 
22 

48 

100 
72 
29 
53 
68 
1 1 
30 
27 

133 


56 
4827 


V,; 


1330  I42I 


555 
113 

158 

44 
194 
676 
148 


ISXS 


181 

88 

166 
86 

105 
84 
58 
54 

144 
89 

128 

252 
148 
158 

157 
231 

55 
159 

75 
543 


2961 
4849 


NOTE: — This  table  is  merely  for  purposes  of  general  comparison.  The 
enumerations  are  not  complete  under  each  head,  and  must  be  taken  to 
represent    only   roughly   the    average    from    author    to    author. 

'59 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS 


161 


UN 


III.  SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS. 

Chief  Forms  of  Trope  in  the  Elizabethan  Drama:    The    Kliza- 
bethan  Drama  is   fundamentally  national,  complex,  and   passion- 
ate.     Its    imagery   therefore   is  generally   original, 

General  Value  varjec}5  ancj  intense.      All  varieties  of  trope  in  infi- 

and  Quality  of  ,      .               .                                     ,„,     .                  r 

„,.    ,    .,  nite  complexity  are  in  constant  use.     Shakspere,  of 

Elizabethan  "         •                                                         l 

Dramatic  course,  is  the  great  type  and   name  of  the  period, 

Imagery  and  Shakspere's  usage  largely  determines  our  judg- 

ment of  the  general  characteristics  of  Elizabethan 
diction  and  imagery.  The  present  study,  however,  prosecuted 
without  reference  to  Shakspere,  must  present  its  results  inde- 
pendently, and  not  attempt  a  correction  from  the  standard  of 
Shakspere  for  the  statement  of  the  entire  period  and  the  literary 
species  as  a  whole.  The  other  dramatic  poets  of  the  period,  it 
need  hardly  be  said,  cannot  abide  the  touchstone  of  Shakspere. 
A  few  supreme  passages  in  Marlowe,  some  of  Chapman's  obscured 
but  colossal  metaphors,  and  now  and  then  a  brief  and  passion- 
ate simile  in  Webster  or  Tourneur,  have  the  Shaksperian,  or,  in 
other  words,  the  ideal  Elizabethan  dramatic  quality.  But  no  such 
level  of  performance  in  every  variation  and  modulation  of  passion 
and  beauty  as  that  of  Shakspere  in  a  score  of  masterpieces  is  long 
kept  up.  Webster's  searching  similes,  to  my  mind,  approach 
nearest  to  it,  but  Webster  lacks  precisely  variety  and  modulation. 
Indeed,  deep  and  pregnant  metaphor,  adequate  to  the  highest 
reaches  of  dramatic  or  poetic  passion,  is  rare  in  the  world's  liter- 
ature. Pindar,  yEschylus,  and  Shakspere  represent  a  certain 
type  of  imagery,  present,  perhaps,  in  no  others  to  the  same 
degree:  and  concentrative  and  illuminative  flashes  of  metaphor 
only  less  intense  or  subtle  are  sometimes  found  in  modern  poets 
such  as  Tennyson,  Browning,  and  Victor  Hugo.  But  the  list  is 
not  long. 

The  imagery  of  the  Elizabethan  drama  outside  of  Shakspere 
is  not  then  of  the  highest  rank.     Greal    passages  and  poetical 

163 


164  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

pictures  there  are,  however,  and  it  is  largely  for  these  occasional 
beauties  and  excellences  that  this  drama  remains  one  of  the  most 
interesting  and  important  sections  of  the  world's  minor  litera- 
ture. "It  is,"  as  Mr.  Lowell  writes,1  "for  their  poetical  qual- 
ities, for  their  gleams  of  imagination,  for  their  quaint  and  subtle 
fancies,  for  their  tender  sentiment,  and  for  their  charm  of  dic- 
tion, that  these  old  playwrights  are  worth  reading." 

These  playwrights  work  as   a   rule   hastily  and  almost  imper- 
sonally   or    with    little     thought     of     Fame's     eternal     beadroll. 
Their    imagery   was    designed   for   direct    dramatic 
Method  of  effect.      It  is  daring,  and   seldom   regards  the  cen- 

_  sor.      Nevertheless,   it   is  not  by  any   means   naive 

of  the  Dram-  '  J        ■' 

atists  anc^   artless.     They  are   strong   and   self-conscious 

craftsmen,  well  aware  of  the  task  that  they  are 
about,  and  continually  casting  about  for  new  devices  and  literary 
effects.  The  university  wits  bring  with  them  to  the  stage  all  the 
figures  of  rhetoric.  "Art  thou  a  scholar,  Don  Horatio  ?"  Jeronimo 
says  to  his  son,2 

"And  canst  not  aim  at  figurative  speech  ?" 

"Use  all  the  tropes 
And  schemes  that  Prince  Quintilian  can  afford  you  ; 
And  much  good  do  your  rhetoric's  heart," 

says  Fitzdottrel  in  The  Devil  is  an  Ass.3  And  references  of  a 
similar  sort  abound  in  all  the  dramatists.4  The  newly  imported 
rhetoric  and  poetics  of  Italy  and  of  the  ancient  writers  were 
operant  in   English  poetry  and  prose5  before  the  revival  of  the 

1  Old  Eng.  Dram.,  p.  26. 

'First  Part  of  Jeronimo  (Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  IV  368). 

3Ionson,  II  22 1  a. 

4  See  for  example  :  Lyly,  II  91-92,  230  ;  Marlowe,  I  1 61 ;  Webster,  12a,  33a 
("a  dried  sentence,  stuft  with  sage")  ;  Chapman,  78,  83,  89,  93,  1 17,  142,  187, 
189,  226,  231,  234,  256,  329;  and  see  the  references  under  Ben  Jonson,  supra, 
p.  129  note  1. 

5  Cf.  Sir  Thomas  Wilson,  the  Arte  of  Rhetorique,  1553  and  later  editions. 
Sir  Thomas  writes  comprehensively  of  the  theory  of  metaphor,  as  follows  : 

"  Men  count  it  a  point  of  wit  to  pass  over  such  words  as  are  at  hand,  and 
to  use  such  as  are  far  fetcht  and  translated  [i.  e.,  metaphorical,  Lat.  translatio]: 
or  else  it  is  because  the  hearer  is  led  by  cogitation  upon  rehearsal  of  a  metaphor, 
and  thinketh  more  by  remembrance  of  a  word  translated  than  is  there  expressly 


SC \MMAK ) •  AND  t '( >.\\  7.  /  S/(  WS.  1 6 5 

drama,  but  tiie  drama  more  than  any  other  agency  perhaps 
helped  to  popularize  and  diffuse  the  new  literary  diction,  or  at 
least  such  parts  of  it  as  were  available  for  popular  and  dramatic 
use.  Without  the  drama  the  breach  between  literary  and  popu- 
lar speech  might  never  have  been  mended.  Vital,  condensed, 
and  infinitely  varied  figure  was  an  outcome  of  the  drama. 

In  imagery  as  in  other  things  there  is  observable  a  rapid  devel- 
opment from  Greene  and  Peele  to  Webster  and  Tourneur.     The 
work  of  the  early  university  wits  is  predominatingly 
The  Evolution    ijterarv  -inci  imitative.      Lvly,   Peele,  Greene,  and 

of  Dramatic         ..     ,  -  .,     ,    ,       ■     *,  •  ^, 

.Marlowe  are  full  of  classical  imagery.  I  he  manner 
Imagery  °     ■ 

of  contemporary  poetry  is  frequently  followed. 
There  is  an  epical  expansiveness  of  diction  throughout  the  most 
dramatic  passages  and  situations  of  Peele  and  Greene,  and  much 
of  Marlowe,  especially  in  Tamburlaine.  Prolonged  similes  of  an 
epical  type  are  not  infrequent  ;'  and  several  of  them  are  borrowed 
directly  from  Spenser,2  and  other  contemporary  poets.  The 
style  is  poetical  rather  than  dramatic. 

Lyric  interludes,  the  "lyrical  interbreathings"  alluded  to  by 
Coleridge,  are  not  infrequent,  and  include  not  only  the  interpo- 
lated som,rs,  characteristic  of  the  Elizabethan  drama 
Lyric 

Interludes  'n   a^  *ts  staSes>  Dut  a^so  passages  in  the  bodv  of 

the  text  which  in  movement  and  diction  are  lyrical 

rather  than  dramatic.3     There  are  numerous  touches  of  this  sort 

in   Greene  and   Peele,    and  many  also  in   Marlowe.     Lyrical    is 

spoken  ;  or  else  because  the  whole  matter  seemeth  bv  a  similitude  to  be  opened  : 
or,  last  of  all,  because  every  translation  is  commonly  and  for  the  most  part 
referred  to  the  senses  of  the  bodv,  and  especially  to  the  sense  of  seeing,  which 
is  the  sharpest  and  quickest  above  all  other."  (Fol.  91a.  I  quote,  modernizing 
the  spelling,  from  a  copy  of  the  first  edition  now  in  my  possession,  and  formerly 
belonging  to  J.  P.  Collier.  1  Note  the  reference  to  "far  fetcht  and  translated  " 
words,  such  words  as  were  in  one  sense  to  become  the  very  life  of  the  diction 
of  the  succeeding  age.  Note  also  Ben  Jonson's  objection  to  "  far-fet  "  metaphors 
many  years  later  in  his  Discoveries  (Works  III  413b). 

1  See  the  references  on  this  head  under  Greene,  Peele,  and  Marlowe,  above, 
pp.  23,  note  S,  38-39,  58,  note  5. 

3  E.  g.  Peele,  II  42;   Marlowe,  I  173,  183. 

3Cf.  J.  A.  Symonds,  Essays  Speculative  and  Suggestive,  409.    Mr.  Svmonds 
has  developed  this  topic  at  considerable  length   and  with  his  usual  felicity  of 


1 66  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

nearly  the  whole  of  Peele's  Arraignment  of Paris,  which  in  fact  is 
a  masque  rather  than  a  play,  and  most  of  David  and  Bethsabe. 
Miles,  Friar  Bacon's  servant,  in  Greene's  Friar  Bacon  and  Friar 
Bungay,  not  without  decorum  is  made  to  talk  in  Skeltonian  verse. 
In  Act  IV,  scene  ii,  of  James  IV  there  is  a  passage  of  rhymed 
lyric  dialogue  between  the  huntsmen  and  the  ladies.  Lyrical  in 
movement  and  imagery  also  is  Tamburlaine's  descant  at  the  open- 
ing of  Act  II,  scene  iv,  of  the  Second  Part  of  Marlowe's  play  of 
that  name,  with  its  regularly  repeated  refrain, 

"To  entertain  divine  Zenocrate." 

So  in  The  Jew  of  Malta,  Act  IV,  scene  iv,  Ithamore,  not  with- 
out parody,  one  must  believe,  addressing  the  precious  Bellamira, 
drops  into  poetry,  like  Silas  Wegg  : 

"Content,  but  we  will  leave  this  paltry  land, 
And  sail  from  hence  to  Greece,  to  lovely  Greece. 
I  '11  be  thy  Jason,  thou  my  golden  fleece  ; 
Where  painted  carpets  o'er  the  meads  are  hurled, 
And  Bacchus'  vineyards  overspread  the  world  ;" 

ending  his  little  madrigal  with  the  refrain  from  Marlowe's  own 
poem  of  "The  Passionate  Shepherd  to  his  Love," — 

"Thou  in  those  groves,  by  Dis  above, 
Shalt  live  with  me,  and  be  my  love."1 

Indeed,  so  thoroughly  was  the  poetical  tradition  established 
that  Chapman,  with  his  literary  and  classical  prepossessions, 
although  writing  contemporaneously  with  Shakspere,  was  unable 
to  shake  off  the  epical  conception  of  tragic  style,  and  accordingly 
produced  tragedies  as  destitute  of  dramatic  movement  and  struc- 
ture as  Kyd's  translation  of  Garnier's  Cornelia,  or  as  the  academic 
tragedies  "of  Sir  William  Alexander  or  of  Lord  Brooke.  Charac- 
teristic of  the  pie-Shaksperian  school  also  is  the  abundance  of 
personification  of  the  formal  type,  and  of  hyperbole  passing  over 
into  bombast. 

critical  touch  and  charm  of  illustration,  in  an  essay  on  "The  Lyrism  of  the 
English  Romantic  Drama"  contained  in  his  volume  entitled  "In  the  Key  of 
Blue." 

'See  Lyric  Movements  in  Webster,  88b,  I42b-i43a,  144b,  etc. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  167 

In  the  later  dramatists  included  in  this  study  these  character- 
istics  give  way   in    large   measure   to   others.      Prolonged  similes 
seldom  occur,  although  short  and  pregnant  similes 
Characteristics    Decome    more   common,    at    least    in    Webster  and 
of  the  later  T  „  ,         ,    ,  ..... 

_..    ,    .,  Jonson.     Formal  and  abstract  personification  is  less 

Drama  frequently   resorted   to   and   is  less   frequently  sus- 

tained, while  a  subtler  and  swifter  incomplete  or 
quasi-personification  takes  its  place.  Hyperbole  also  becomes 
less  frequent,  and  after  Chapman  is  seldom  found  assuming  the 
Titanic  airs  of  Tamburlaine  and  Bussy  D'Ambois.  Classical  allu- 
sion also  becomes  less  profuse,  and  the  conventional  and  poetical 
manner  yields  to  the  dramatic  and  direct.  There  is  a  decided 
increase  in  complexity  of  style  and  diction,  passion  grows  less 
grandiose  and  more  introspective  in  its  utterance,  and  there  is  a 
deepening  intensity  of  speech  and  of  imagination,  until  the  dry 
and  terrible  manner  of  Webster  and  Tourneur  is  reached.  The 
dramatic  type  of  figure  and  diction,  superseding  the  lyrical  and 
the  epical,  is  finally  established. 

Among  the  tropes  of  high  imaginative  value  which  are  espe- 
cially available  for  dramatic  use,  and  of  which   therefore  we  may 

expect  to  find  striking  and  frequent  illustrations  in 
Metonymy  and     ,     *_,..     ,      ,  ,  ,  , 

<,      ,     ,    .         the  Elizabethan  drama,  metonymy  and  synecdoche 

in  the  Drama  can  hardly  be  ranked.  Yet,  as  Professor  Greene 
has  said'  "Some  instances  of  metonymy  manifest 
more  imagination  than  do  some  instances  of  metaphor,"  and 
examples  of  this  sort  occur  now  and  then  in  the  dramatists. 
Thus,  in  The  Revenger's  Tragedy,1  the  Duchess'  youngest  son 
says  of  Antonio's  wife,  "her  beauty  was  ordained  to  be  my  scaf- 
fold"—  where  evidently  the  particular  form  of  means  of  death  is 
suggested  in  place  of  the  general  term  "death"  itself,  for  the  sake 
of  greater  force  and  vividness.     Later  in  the  same  play  occurs  a 

1  A  Grouping  of  Figures  of  Speech,  p.  19. 

2Tourneur,  II,  p.  16;  cf.  Webster  Sob  ("ere  you  attained  This  reverend 
garment");  Kyd,  in  Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  IV  357,  360  ("O  my  true-breasted 
father.  .  .  .  Had  not  your  reverend  years  been  present  ....  "),  364  ("worthy 
my  sword's  society  with  thee") ;  Jonson  I  308a  (shield  and  sword),  414b  ("all 
the  yellow  doublets  and  great  roses  in  the  town  will  be  there"),  II  85b  (axes), 
104b  ("this  good  shame");  etc. 


1 68  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

phrase  which  may  no  doubt  be  interpreted  as  a  mere  ellipsis,  but 
which  carries  the  effect  of  intense  metaphor  conjoined  with 
metonymy, —  "My  Lord  Antonio,  for  this  time  wipe  your  lady 
from  your  eyes." 

The  commonplace  of  the   rhetorics  that  simile  is  a  non-dra- 
matic figure  is  hardly  borne  out  by  the  facts  of  the  case  in  the 
Elizabethan  drama.     The  prolonged  and  elaborate 

Simile  as  simile   is    doubtless   always   the   mark   of  the  non- 

a  Dramatic  ,    ,  , 

_.  dramatic  style,  and  the  metaphor  per  se  is  a  more 

intense  and   dramatic  figure ;  but  the  short  simile 

in  itself   is   not   undramatic ;  at   most   it  can   be  called  a  neutral 

figure.      Striking  examples  of  short  similes  in  the  most  dramatic 

collocations  exist  without  number  throughout  the  drama.    Indeed 

it  can  be  said  that  the  form  of  the  short  simile,  with  its  slightly 

deliberate  and  intellectual  cast,  often  lends  itself  to  the  expression 

of  sardonic  and  tragic  irony  and  similar  emotions  with  startling 

effect.     This  appears  in  Webster  in  numberless  instances  : 

.  .  .  .  "  like  to  calm  weather 
At  sea  before  a  tempest,  false  hearts  speak  fair 
To  those  they  intend  most  mischief"1 

"your  good  heart  gathers  like  a  snow-ball 
Now  your  affection's  cold."8 

"Like  mistletoe  on  sear  elms  spent  by  weather, 
Let  him  cleave  to  her,  and  both  rot  together."3 

"Thou  hast  led  me,  like  a  heathen  sacrifice, 
With  music  and  with  fatal  yokes  of  flowers, 
To  my  eternal  ruin."4 

Of  course,  the  context  here,  as  almost  everywhere  in  dramatic 
writing,  is  indispensable  for  grasping  the  emotional  connotation 
of  the  simile. 

Another    highly    dramatic    and    effective    form    of    simile,    a 
favorite  with  Elizabethan  playwrights,  is  what  may 
The  Simile         bg  termed   the  Simile  of  Action.     The  illustration 
ot  Action 

that  will  occur  at  once  is  Othello  s  last  speech  : 

'Webster,  82b.  3  Id.  17a. 

Id.  32a.  4Id.  30b. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  169 

"  Set  you  down  this  ; 
And  say  besides,  that  in  Aleppo  once, 
Where  a  malignant  and  a  turban'd  Turk 
Beat  a  Venetian  and  tradue'd  the  state, 
I  took  by  the  throat  the  circumcised  dog, 
And  smote  him  —  thus."     [Stabs  himself.]1 

—  although   this   particular   instance  technically  would  be  called 
Example  rather  than  Simile,  if  either,  by  the  rhetoricians. 

So  the  Duchess  of  Main,  kneeling  to  her  execution,  exclaims  : 

"heaven-gates  are  not  so  highly  arch'd 
As  princes'  palaces  ;  they  that  enter  there 
Must  go  upon  their  knees."* 

And  Virginius,  as  he  kills  Virginia,  says  : 

"  Thus  I  surrender  her  into  the  court 
Of  all  the  gods."3 

An  earlier  instance  occurs  in  Kyd's  Spanish  Tragedy*  where 
Hieronimo,  holding  in  his  hand  papers  entrusted  to  him  by  the 
citizens,  promises 

"  Revenge  on  them  that  murdered  my  son,"  when  he  has 
them  in  his  toils, — 

"  Then  will  I  rent  and  tear  them  thus  and  thus, 
Shivering  their  limbs  in  pieces  with  my  teeth." 

[Tears  the  papers.] 

This  is  the  sign-language  of  simile  and  often  excels  elaborate 
diction  in  effectiveness. 

Implied  simile,  omitting  the  terms  of  comparison, —  the  figure 
intermediate  between  full  simile  and  metaphor, —  is  naturally  a 
frequent  form.  Complex  and  sometimes  fantastic  in  structure,  it 
is  especially  a  favorite  in  the  highly  undramatic  style  of  Lyly. 
Passing  into  the  higher  forms  of  imperfect  allegory,  parable, 
fable,   and    similar   sententious    forms,   it   is  also  a  favorite   with 

1  Othello,  Act  V,  sc.  ii.     Cf.  Chapman  441b. 

2  Webster,  89a. 
'Id.  173a. 

♦  Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  V  129:  See  also  Marlowe,  I  156,  II  211  ;  Peek,  I  125, 
Tourneur,  II  6  (the  address  to  the  skull),  37  (the  address  to  the  sword),  cf.  58, 
72,  120,  144;  Jonson  I  58b,  II  22 1 1),  348b;  Chapman  202b,  258a  (the  game  of 
cards),  etc. 


170  METAPHOR  AX D  SIMILE. 

others.  But  it  is  only  with  metaphor  in  its  various  manifestations 
that  we  arrive  at  the  highest  dramatic  form  among 

Metaphor,  tropes.      Dramatic    poetry,    and    especially    Eliza- 

bethan tragedy,  has  been  preeminently  the  field  for 

Forms  as  a  °  .    J '  r  J 

Dramatic  tne  expression   of  human   passion,  and  no  form  of 

Figure  language  is  so  adapted  to  the  expression  of  ideal- 

ized passion  as  metaphor.  "  The  metaphor,"  as  Dr. 
Wood1  says,  "has  in  serious  poetry  usually  a  distinct  element  of 
feeling;"  while  simile  and  the  more  deliberate  figures  make  their 
appeal  more  dispassionately  to  the  imagination  —  the  image- 
creating  faculty  —  and  to  the  understanding.  Mere  vividness  of 
visual  impression,  mere  definiteness  of  outline  and 
Exactness  not     clearness  of  conception,  are  not  essential  qualities 

of  all  trope,  and  especially  of  dramatic  trope, 
Merit  *;    '  ,         J  .     . 

in  Trope  where  usually  emotional  association  and  the  repre- 

sentative realization  of  human  pathos  and  passion 
are  far  more  important  functions  of  figure.  The  great  merit  of 
metaphor,  as  has  been  said  by  Aristotle,*  and  many  others  after 
him,  is  that  it  is  a  perception  of  hidden  resemblances,  and  such 
resemblances  by  their  nature  are  partial  and  generally  are  inexact 
and  vague.  As  Burke 3  has  said, —  "  In  reality  poetry  and  rhetoric 
do  not  succeed  in  exact  description  so  well  as  painting  does ; 
their  business  is  to  affect  rather  by  sympathy  than  imitation  ;  to 
display  rather  the  effect  of  things  on  the  mind  of  the  speaker,  or 
of  others,  than  to  present  a  clear  idea  of  the  things  themselves." 
Or,  as  Coleridge4  phrased  the  same  idea  :  "The  grandest  efforts 
of  poetry  are  where  the  imagination  is  called  forth  not  to  pro- 
duce, a  distinct  form,  but  a  strong  working  of  the  mind,  .  '.  . 
viz.,  the  substitution  of  a  sublime  feeling  of  the  unimaginable 
for  a  mere  image." 

*"T.  L.  Beddoes,  a  Survival   in   Style,"  American  Journal  of   Philology, 

IV  445-455- 

2  Rhetoric,  Bk.  Ill,  ch.  xi. 

3  On  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful,  Pt.  V  (Works  I  257).  Burke  has  developed 
the  whole  subject  very  thoroughly  :     See  Works  I,  pp.88, 133, 136,  251,255,  etc. 

*  Lectures  on  Shakspere  and  Milton  (Bonn  ed.)  p.  91.  Further  on  the  dis- 
tinction between  vague  and  vivid  imagery  cf.  Hennequin,  La  Critique  Scientif- 
ique,  40-43  (Paris,  1890). 


St  TMMA  A'  i '  AND  t '< WCL  USIONS.  i  7 1 

The  mere  perception   of  analogy  is   not  as   such  a  poetical 

faculty.     The  mind  of  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  so  powerful  and  subtle 

in  the  perception  of  intellectual   analogies,  is  standing  evidence 

to  the  contrary.     The  sense  of  beauty,  or  the  sense  of  passion, 

or  both,  in  a  high  degree,  are  also  necessary  to  the  creative  artist. 

In   poetic   art   there  always  have  been  two  types  of 

wo    oe  ic  U1in(i  :   jn  the  first  place  there  is  the  mind  supreme 

Types  ■  * 

in  the  creation  of  mental  images  deeply  informed 

with  the  sense  of  beauty,  in  the  pictorial  power  attaching  itself  to 
human  emotion  ;  of  which  type  Homer,  in  ancient  poetry,  is  an 
example,  and  Spenser,  very  strikingly,  in  English  poetry;  simile, 
and  usually  prolonged  and  elaborate  simile,  is  the  form  of  expres- 
sion natural  to  this  type  of  mind  ;  in  the  second  place  there  is 
the  type  which  usually  fuses  the  outlines  of  the  image  in  the  heat 
of  its  passion,  making  the  ideas  always  subservient  to  the  emotion, 
instead  of  making  the  emotion,  for  the  moment,  subservient  to 
the  idea,  to  the  picture,  as  is  so  often  the  case  with  Homer  and 
the  epic  poets  ;  ^Eschylus,  among  the  ancients,  and  Shakspere, 
among  the  moderns,  are  the  great  examplars  of  this  school  ;  and 
it  is  preeminently  the  dramatic  school  and  the  school  of  intense 
metaphor.  It  is  probable  that  modern  taste  and  instinct  inclines 
more  to  the  method  of  the  dramatic  school,  but  still  it  is  too 
much,  it  seems  to  me,  to  assert,  as  Professor  Sherman1  apparently 
does,  that  the  essential  tendency  of  literary  evolution  is  away 
from  the  expansive  type  and  the  school  of  simile,  and  is  only 
toward  the  cpncentrative  type  and  the  school  of 
stron2  metaphor.   "It   is  very    plain,"  writes    Dr.    Wood,* 

gures    n  however,  "  that  strong  figures  are  the  cornerstone  of 

Metaphor  ft     ° 

style,3  but  especially  of  English  style."     The  bold 

use  of  trope  is  one  of  the  first  characteristics  of  the  Romantic 
School  in  poetry,  at  each  of  the  recurrent  periods  of  its  recru- 
descence. In  a  certain  sense  this  is  largely  true  of  the  romantic 
art  of  the  Elizabethan  drama.     But  conjoined  with   the   merely 

1  Analytics  of  Literature,  pp.  78  f. 

2 Op.  cit. 

3".  .  .  pure  Poetry,  the  essence  of  which  consists  in  bold  figures  and  a 
lively  imagery"  (Bp.  Iiunl,  Works,  Vol.  I,  p.  99).  Cf.  also  Dryden,  Works  ed. 
Scott  and  Saintsbury,  V,  ill  f. 


172  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

bold   and   concentrative   use  of  trope  in  this  drama,  there  is  the 
deliberate  and  frequent  use  of  simile,  not  of  the 
Weaker  prolonged  simile,  it   is  true,  but   of   the   short   and 

..  emphatic    simile.       Shakspere,    especially    in    his 

earlier  work,  is  full  of  it,  and  it  is  almost  the  chief 
characteristic  of  the  style  of  Webster,  the  most  intense  of  the 
Elizabethans  after  Shakspere.  At  the  same  time,  moreover,  the 
other  tendency  towards  the  expansive  in  style  and  towards 
deliberate  and  weaker  figures,  is  continually  reasserting  itself  in 
all  periods  of  literary  history,1  although  probably  the  final  result 
on  the  whole  is  a  blending  of  various  styles  such  as  we  see  in 
Milton  and  Tennyson  ;  and  the  sympathetic  or  pregnant  meta- 
phor, as  Biese2  says,  in  its  various  forms  and  phases,  has  doubtless 
been  a  product  of  slow  growth. 

At  any  rate  the  dramatic  metaphor,  in   infinite   complexity  of 

form   and    expression    and    in    varying    degrees    of    intensity,    is 

abundantly   illustrated   in   the   Elizabethan  drama. 

„  ,     ,  Passion  and  emotion  rather  than   utilitarian   econ- 

Metaphor ; 

its  Function        omy3  seem  to  me  to   be   its  function.     Brevity  and 

directness  are  doubtless  the  usual  concomitants  of 

passion  and  emotion,  but  they   are  hardly  the  primary  motive  of 

dramatic   and   other   aesthetic    metaphor.       If    we   disregard    the 

external  marks  of  difference  between  metaphor,  simile,  and  other 

tropes  of  a  high  degree  of  imaginative  intensity,  they  all  perhaps 

may   be   divided   into   two   classes  acccording  to  their  subjective 

effect  —  a  division  which  also  corresponds  roughly 
Two  Essential  ,,  ,.  ,. 

to  the  primary  division  among  tropes  according  to 

Trope-  the         tne   source  from  which   the  subject-matter  of   each 

Vivid  Image       is  derived.     The  first  class  includes  such   tropes  as 

versus  the  primarily  illustrate   Aristotle's   explanation4  of  the 

Sympathetic      psychological    effect    of    metaphor    and    simile    as 

affording  a  gratification  of  intellectual  curiosity  in 

1  Homer  is  succeeded  by  the  Latin  epic  poets  ;  then  Ariosto,  Tasso,  etc. ;  then 
Spenser,  Milton,  Wordsworth ;  and  in  our  day  typical  minor  poets  like  William 
Morris  and  other  dreamers  of  dreams. 

2  Das  Metaphorische  in  der  dichterischen   Phantasie,  pp.  29-30. 
3Cf.  Spencer's  Phil,  of  Style. 

4  Rhetoric,  Bk.  Ill  c.  x.   ;  also  Bk.  I  c.  xi. 


SUMMARY    AND  CONCLUSIONS.  17.; 

the  perception    of  hidden  analogies,   of  likeness   in   difference. 

Such  are  many  nature  similes  and  those  which  generally  excel 
in  vividness  of  image.  The  second  and  larger  class,  while  some- 
times also  answering  to  the  test  of  conveying  instruction,  prima- 
rily make  their  appeal  remotely  or  directlv  to  the  human  will,  to 
"the  will  to  live."  in  the  phraseology  of  the  Schopenhauerian 
philosophy.  Such  are  the  sympathetic  metaphor  and  in  fact  most 
metaphors  and  similes  involving  human  affairs  and  interests  in 
one  term  or  the  other  of  the  comparison.  Nature  similes  involv- 
ing "the  pathetic  fallacy,"  all  personifications,  full  or  concealed, 
and  almost  all  forms  of  sententious  figures  are  of  this  sort.  By 
far  the  greater  proportion  of  the  figures  used  in  dramatic 
poetry,  where  the  comparison  almost  always  involves  the  human 
in  at  least  one  of  its  terms,  are  of  this  class.  The  brief  and 
intensive  metaphor  is  so  far  distinguished  from  other  forms 
of  trope  of  this  class  in  its  greater  directness,  subtlety,  and  force 
of  appeal  to  the  emotional  sympathies  of  "the  will  to  live." 
Thus  Macbeth's  passionate  cry,  "Out,  out,  brief  candle;" 
forces  home  upon  the  mind  not  so  much  a  comparison 
conveying  useful  instruction,  as  an  intense  and  sympathetic 
realization,  through  the  humblest  symbolism,  of  the  brevity 
and  uncertainty  of  life  and  a  score  of  other  emotions  arising 
from  the  situation  and  the  context,  but  far  too  complex  and 
searching  to  be  expressed  by  any  circumlocution  of  literal 
language. 

This  form  of  figure,  the  sympathetic    or  intensive   metaphor, 

brought  to  its  perfection  by  Shakspere,  is  exemplified  with  varying 

degrees  of  power  and  success  throughout  the  works 
Xhe  Intensive 

__  .     .  of  his  contemporaries.      Few,  however,  show   it   in 

Metaphor  in  r 

the  Drama  great   degree,   although   almost    all   show  traces  at 

least   of  a   style   of  expression   and    feeling    which 

was  in   the  air  of  the  Renaissance  period.      Marlowe's   passion   is 

too  tumultuous,  rhythmical,  and  grandiose  to  exhibit  many 
examples  of  the  concentrative   metaphor  and    the 

In  Marlowe  brief  and  intensive  simile.  Marlowe  like  a  true 
poet  is  fond  of  the   nature  picture  with   but    slight 

emotional  connotation  : 


174  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

"The  horse  that  guide  the  golden  eye  of  Heaven, 
And  blow  the  morning  from  their  nosterils, 
Making  their  fiery  gait  above  the  clouds." 

"  their  ensigns  spread 
Look  like  the  parti-colored  clouds  of  heaven." 

Intenser  is: 

"Oh,  thou  art  fairer  than  the  evening  air, 
Clad  in  the  beauty  of  a  thousand  stars." 

Or  Faustus'  passionate  cry: 

"See  where  Christ's  blood  streams  in  the  firmament." 

Full  of  symbolism,  too,  is  the  concluding  chorus  of  Faustus: 

"  Cut  is  the  branch  that  might  have  grown  full  straight, 
And  burned  is  Apollo's  laurel  bough, 
That  sometime  grew  within  this  learned  man." 

The  diction  of  Edward  II  is  somewhat  more  dramatic  than 
elsewhere  in  Marlowe: 

"Brother,  revenge  it,  and  let  these  their  heads 

Preach  upon  poles." 

"methinks  you  hang  the  heads, 

But  we'll  advance  them,  traitors  ! " 
"My  heart  is  as  an  anvil  unto  sorrow, 

Which  beats  upon  it  like  the  Cyclops'  hammers." 

"weep  not  for  Mortimer," 
That  scorns  the  world,  and,  as  a  traveller, 
Goes  to  discover  countries  yet  unknown." 

And  see  Edward's  language  to  his  jailors. 

Greene,  Peele,  and  Lyly  have  little  figure  of  this  sort  that  is 
significant.      Kyd's  great  reputation   in    his  own   time,   we  may 

conjecture,  was    partly   due    to    his  daring   experi- 
In  Kyd  ments  in  the  art  of  violent   and  intensive  imagery. 

Tropes   like  the  examples   that   follow  must  have 

had  a   striking   and   novel  effect  after  the  arid  literature   of  the 

preceding  two  hundred  years  upon  a  public  eager  for  sensation, 

but  with  tastes  yet  crude  and  unformed.1 

1  Perhaps,  if  we  may  conjecture  from  Henslow's  diary,  the  best  of  these 
are  from  Jonson's  hand;  or  else,  according  to  Lamb  (Spec,  of  Eng.  Dram. 
Poets,  p.  u),  from  Webster's;  or,  according  to  Coleridge  (Table  Talk,  Bohn 
ed.,  p.  203),  frorn  Shakspere's. 


SUMMAR  Y  AND  C<  W(  7  I  S/<  WS.  •  7  5 

"A  melancholy,  discontented  courtier 
Whose  famished  jaws  look  like  the  chap  of  death." 

"Methinks  since  I  grew  inward  with  revenge, 
I  cannot  look  with  scorn  enough  on  death." 

See  also  the  fanciful  description  of  the  classical  inferno  at 
the  beginning  of  The  Spanish  Tragedy*  or  Hieronimo's  semi- 
lunatic  allegory  in  his  speech  to  the  "  Portingals."2 

•'There  is  a  path  upon  vour  left-hand  side 
That  leadeth  from  a  guilty  conscience 
Unto  a  forest  of  distrust  and  fear,"  etc. 

Chapman's  tragedies  are  replete  with  metaphor,  but  his  man- 
ner is  expatiatorv,  tortuous,  and  magniloquent,  rather  than   con- 
cise and  intense.     Occasionally,  however,  he  breaks 
In  Chapman       out   into   the  characteristic   Elizabethan  metaphor. 
For  example  : 

"my  heart  shrugs  at  it."3 
"I  stroke  again  at  him,  and  then  he  slept."* 
"He  died  splinted  with  his  chamber  grooms."5 

"  D'Ambois'  sword 

Shot  like  a  pointed  comet  at  the  face 
Of  manlv  Barrisor."6 

Even  Jonson  in  the  midst  of  his  resolute  realism  presents  a 

few  instances  of  similar  phraseology.7      But  it  is  from  the  tragic 

.    _  and  intense   genius  of  Webster  and  of  Tourneur 

In  Tourneur  ° 

that  we  must  look  for  the  greatest  number  of  con- 

centrative  tropes.     Tourneur  is  full  of  flash-light  images: 

"  Your  gravity  becomes  vour  perished  soul 
As  hoary  mouldiness  does  rotten  fruit."8 

"  O,  that  marrowless  age 
Should  stuff  the  hollow  bones  with  damn'd  desires." 

Hippolito  in  The  Revenger  s  Tragedy  urges  Antonio's  friends  to 
avenge  the  latter's  wrongs  at  the  hands  of  the  Duchess'  son  ;  and, 

1  Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  V  pp.  8-IO.    6  Id.  p.  147b. 

3  Id.  p.    100.  t  See  the  examples  quoted  supra,  pp.  1  ;;    I3S> 

-  Chapman,  p.  337.  8  Tourneur,  I  34. 

♦Id.  p.  366.  »  Id.   II  5. 

5  Id.  p.    175. 


176  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

in  default  of  legal  justice  which  is  bribed,  drawing  his  own  sword, 

cries, 

"Nay,  then,  step  forth  thou  bribeless  officer! 
I  bind  you  all  in  steel  to  bind  vou  surely. 
Here  let  your  oaths  meet  to  be  kept  and  paid, 
Which  else  will  stick  like  rust  and  shame  the  blade. 
Strengthen  my  vow,  that  if,  at  the  next  sitting, 
Judgment  speak  all  in  gold,  and  spare  the  blood 
Of  such  a  serpent — e'en  before  their  seats 
To  let  his  soul  out,  which  long  time  was  found 
Guilty  in  heaven."1 

And  Castiza,  indignantly  rejecting  the   evil   suggestions   of  her 
mother,  says  to  her, 

"  I  have  endur'd  vou  with  an  ear  of  fire; 
Your  tongues  have  struck  hot  irons  on  my  face. 
Mother,  come  from  that  poisonous  woman  there."* 

See  also  : 

"  Hast  thou  beguil'd  her  of  salvation, 

And  rubbed  hell  o'er  with  honey?"'* 

"To  have  her  train  borne  up,  and  her  soul  trail  i'  th'  dirt."4 

— and  many  others. 

Similarly  Webster  : 

In  Webster         "...   Sleep  with  the  lion, 

And  let  this  brood  of  secure  foolish  mice 
Play  with  your  nostrils,  till  the  time  be  ripe 
For  the  bloody  audit  and  the  fatal  gripe."5 

"  And  so  I  leave  thee, 
With  all  the  Furies  hanging  'bout  thy  neck."6 

"  I  have  heard  grief  nam'd  the  eldest  child  of  sin."7 

"  These  are  two  cupping-glasses  that  shall  draw 
All  my  infected  blood  out."      [Showing  the pistols.~\% 

"  Fate  's  a  spaniel, 
We  cannot  beat  it  from  us."9 

1  Tourneur,  37.  6Id.  35a. 

2  Id.  51.  7  Id.  44b. 

3  Id.  54.  8 Id.  47b. 

4  Id.  123.  »  Id.  49a. 

5  Webster,  27b. 


SI  WMAR ) '  AND  CONCL  USH  >.YS.  I  7  7 

"  Her  guilt  treads  on 
Hot  burning  coulters" ' 

"  Sir,  your  direction 
Shall  load  me  by  the  //and."  ■ 

••  I'll  second  you  in  all  danger  ;  and,  howe'er, 
My  life  keeps  rank  with  yours."3 

"  You  shall  see  me  wind  my  tongue  about  his  heart 
Like  a  skein  of  silk."  4 

"  Because  I  do  not  strike  you, 
Or  give  you  the  lie, —  such  foul  preparatives 
Would  show  like  the  stalo  injury  of  wine, — 
I  reserve  my  rage  to  sit  on  my  sword's  point" s 

'•  His  memory  to  virtue  and  good  men 
Is  still  carousing  Lethe.'"  6 

"  Thy  violent  lust 
Shall,  like  the  biting  of  the  envenom'd  aspic, 
Steal  thee  to  hell."1 

Webster's  characteristic  figure,  however,  is  the  deliberate 
comparison.  But  the  emotional  power  of  his  similes,  if  some- 
what drv,  bitter,  and  conscious,  is  scarcelv  less  than  that  of  the 
deepest  and  most  burning  metaphors. 

Out   of   the  hurry  and  stress  and   profusion  of   metaphorical 

speech  which  gets  to  be  characteristic  of  many  of  the  Elizabethan 

dramatists  result  several  tendencies  which  may  be 

Various  saj(j    to    mar]i    tne    rjrama  of   the  time  as  a  whole. 

Excesses  in  the   ™         .,  .  .       ,  ,   ,  , 

rirst  there  is  a  s^reat  amount  of  cumulative  and 
Use  of  Tropes  ° 

alternative  trope.  Figures  are  dealt  out  in  over- 
measure  ; 8  there  is  often  a  very  riot  of  metaphors  and  similes; 
the  poet  delights  to  show  his  dexteritv  with  language  ;  few  of  the 
dramatists  are   free   from   the  vice  of  punning  and  every  sort  of 

'  Webster,  74b.  5  Id.  117b. 

2  Id.  80a.  6Id.  169a. 

'Id.  92b.  7Id.  172a. 

*  Id.  95b. 

8  See  the  distinctions  on  the  subject  of  accumulated  and  daring  metaphor 
in  The  Treatise  on  The  Sublime  usually  ascribed  to  Longinus  XXXII   1,  2: 

"  Those  outbursts  of  passion  which  drive  onwards  like  a  winter  torrent  draw 
with  them  as  an  indispensable  accessory  whole  masses  of  metaphor  .  .  .,"  etc. 
(Havel's  translation,  p.  58.) 


178  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

fantastic  playing  with  words  ;  hyperbole  is  a  familiar  figure  with 
them,  and  such  is  the  superabundance  of  dramatic  passion  press- 
ing forward  for  expression  that  the  grossest  exaggerations  seldom 
shock  them  ;  conceits  everywhere  abound,  witty,  dainty,  fan- 
tastic, feeble,  eloquent, — of  every  sort.  We  feel  the  approach  of 
the  "  metaphysical  "  school  in  poetry.  Extremes  meet  in  the 
same  writer.  Chapman  is  turgid,  grandiose,  extravagant  in  his 
tragedies  ;  such  sound  and  fury  of  metaphor,  obscurely  signifying 
weighty  and  impassioned  things,  can  hardly  be  paralleled  else- 
where in  literature.  At  the  same  time  his  comedies  are  often 
witty,  easy,  and  full  of  natural  life.  Involved  metaphor  is  counter- 
balanced in  him  by  a  habit  of  logical  and  emphatic  simile.  So 
Webster,  the  deepest  poet  of  passion  of  the  age  after  Shakspere, 
prefers   to    use    the   dry    and    clear-cut   simile   to   accentuate  the 

emotion   of  pity  and  terror.     Yet  Webster,  too,  at 

Cumulative  ,  ,  ,  0        , 

times-  heaps  metaphor  upon  metaphor.      Bosola  in 

Effects 

The  Duchess  of  Malfi '  reproaches  the  duchess  for 

her  despair  : 

"  Leave  this  vain  sorrow. 
Things  being  at  the  worst  begin  to  mend  :  the  bee 
When  he  hath  shot  his  sting  into  your  hand, 
May  then  play  with  your  eyelid. 
Duchess :  Good  comfortable  fellow, 
Persuade  a  wretch  that 's  broke  upon  the  wheel 
To  have  all  his  bones  new  set  ;   entreat  him  live 
To  be  executed  again.     Who  must  despatch  me  ? 
I  account  this  world  a  tedious  theatre, 
For  I  do  play  a  part  in't  'gainst  my  will. 
Bosola :  Come,  be  of  comfort,  I  will  save  your  life. 
Duchess:  Indeed,  I  have  not  leisure  to  tend 
So  small  a  business. 
Besola :  Now,  by  my  life  I  pity  you. 
Duchess:  Thou  art  a  fool,  then, 
To  waste  thy  pity  on  a  thing  so  wretched 
As  cannot  pity  itself.     /  am  full  of  daggers. 
Puff,  let  me  blow  these  vipers  from  me." 

Dramatic  innuendo  everywhere  abounds  in  Webster.     Excited 
imaginations  naturally  have  resource  to  suggestion  by  metaphor 

'Act  IV  sc.  i  (Works  p.  85b);  see  also  Works  21a. 


SUMMARY  AXD  CONCLUSIONS.  179 

and  are  loth  to  drop  the  game.  A  little  snatch  of  dialogue 
between  Bosola  and  Antonio  in  The  Duchess  of  Malfi  (Webster 
70b)  is  typical  : 

Bosola :   You  are  a  false  steward. 

Antonio:  Saucy  slave,  I'll  pull  thee  up  by  the  roots. 

Bos.:  May  be  the  ruin  will  crush  you  to  pieces. 

Ant.:  You  are  an  impudent  snake  indeed,  sir: 

Are  vou  scarce  warm,  and  do  you  show  your  sting? 

You  libel  well,  sir. 

Bos.:   No,  sir  ;   copy  it  out 

And  1  will  set  my  hand  to  't. 

Chapman  is  particularly  fond  of  massing  metaphors.  See, 
for  example  in  Byron's  Conspiracy  King  Henry's  speech  to  Byron 
concerning  La  Fin  :' 

"Why  suffer  you  that  ill-aboding  vermin 
To  breed  so  near  your  bosom  ?  be  assured 
His  haunts  are  ominous  ;   not  the  throats  of  ravens, 
Spent  on  infected  houses,  howls  of  dogs, 
When  no  sound  stirs,  at  midnight  ;   apparitions 
And  strokes  of  spirits  clad  in  black  men's  shapes, 
Or  ugly  women's;  the  adverse  decrees 
Of  constellations,  nor  security 
In  vicious  peace,  are  surer  fatal  ushers 
Of  femall  mischiefs  and  mortalities 
Than  this  prodigious  fiend  is,  where  he  fawns." 

This  same  tendency,  connected  as  it  is  with  the  tendency  to 

conceits  and   over-elaboration   of  figures,  results  also   in   a  great 

profusion  of  tropes  which  for  want  of  a  better  name 

en  en  ious  j     called  Sententious  Figures,2  including  Alle- 

Tropes  -  °  ° 

gory,  Perfect  and  Imperfect,  Fable,  Parable,  Prov- 
erb, and  also  metaphors  and  similes  of  a  gnomic  cast,  such  as 
are   very    frequent    throughout    the    drama.      A    sort    of   implied 

'Act  III  sc.  i  (pp.  230b-23la).  See  also  the  superb  cumulative  effects  in 
Byron's  dying  speech,  quoted  above,  pp.  134-I3S ;  and  sec  Marlowe's 
Tamburlaine  passim.  The  great  examples  of  this  sort  of  effect,  however,  are 
to  be  found  in  Shakspere.  See  the  Dover  cliff  speech,  King  /.car  IV  vi  ;  the 
apostrophe  to  England  —  "This  royal  throne  of  kint,rs,"  in  Richard  II,  Act  II 
sc.  i  ;  etc. 

2  See  further  on  sententious  figures,  infra,  pp.  204  f.;  see  also  :  Greene,  179a 
(Friar  Bacon's  prophecy  of  Elizabeth,  "Diana's  rose"),  200a,  200b,  219a  (fable 


180  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

simile  or  metaphorical  phrase  or  passage  is  the  favorite  form. 
Lyly  especially  abounds  in  them  ;  for  example,  "There  is  no  sur- 
feit so  dangerous  as  that  of  honey,  nor  any  poison  so  deadly  as 
that  of  love;  in  the  one  physic  cannot  prevail,  nor  in  the  other 
counsel."1  This  sort  of  proportional  simile  with  the  sign  of 
comparison  omitted  passes  very  readily  into  the  imperfect  alle- 
gorv,  as  does  also  the  pursued  or  compound  metaphor  which  is 
likewise  so  frequent  in  the  earlv  dramatists.  Indeed  the  com 
pound  metaphor  Gerber 2  apparently  treats  as  allegory.  The  gen- 
eral indirection  and  ethical  impressiveness  of  these  figures  com- 
mended them  to  the  Elizabethan  writers.  Greene  and  Chapman 
especially  abound  in  them  ;  Jonson  also  has  many,  especially  prov- 
erbs and  others  of  a  colloquial  cast  ;  Webster  is  more  dramatically 
sententious.  The  taste  for  this  sort  of  thing  in  the  earlier 
dramatists  is  connected  with  the  tendencv  of  contemporary  liter- 
ature to  allegory  and  emblem.  Notice  has  already  been  taken  of 
the  echoes  of  Spenser's  imagerv  in  Peele  and  in  Marlowe.3 
The  emblematic  devices  of  Young  Mortimer  and  Lancaster  for 
Edward's  "stately  triumph"  in  Act  II  scene  ii  of  Marlowe's 
Edward  II  recall  also  the  Spenser  of  The  Visions  and  similar 
imitations  of  mediaeval  and  contemporary  motives  out  of  Petrarch 
and  the  French  poets. 

"A  lofty  cedar-tree,  fair  flourishing, 
On  whose  top-branches  kingly  eagles  perch, 
And  by  the  bark  a  canker  creeps  me  up, 
And  gets  into  the  highest  bough  of  all  : 
The  motto,  Aeque  tandem."* 

The  Euphuistic  employment  of  a  fabulous  natural  history, 
which  invaded  the  drama  at  this  period,  is  a  part  of  the  same 
tendency  to  fable  and  emblem. 

of  the  lion,  the  hind,  and  the  fox) ;  Marlowe,  II  154-5  ;  Webster,  32b  (fable  of 
the  crocodile  and  the  wren),  and  passim  for  sententious  couplets  and  similes ; 
Chapman,  185b  (fable  of  the  traveler,  the  north  wind,  and  the  sun) ;  etc. 

'Works  I  112.  See  also  his  various  prologues,  especially  the  "  Prologue  at 
the  Black  Friars  "  to  Alexander  and  Campaspe. 

2  Die  Sprache  als  Kunst,  II  98. 

3  Supra,  pp.  25,  39. 

4  Marlowe,  II  154-5. 


/ 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  181 

Catachresis  and  mixed  metaphor  we  naturally  expect  to  find 
largely  exemplified  in  a  diction  such  as  that  of  the   Elizabethan 

dramatists,  and  far-fetched  comparisons  and  meta- 
Catachresis  phors  subtle  and  elliptical  beyond  measure  doubt- 
and  Mixe  lesg  ^q  a^oun(j  .   ^ut   tjie   typically  crude  and  gro- 

Metaphor  • 

tesque  mixed  metaphor  is  much  less  frequent   than 

might  be  expected.  Too  much  real  passion  and  emotional 
excitement  dictated  the  utterances  of  these  men  to  permit  many 
lapses  into  mere  senility  and  vacuity  of  imagery.  Rant,  extrava- 
gance, and  hyperbole  there  is  in  abundance  in  Kyd,  Marlowe, 
Chapman  and  others,  but  little  mere  incompetence  and  impotence 
of  picture  and  phrase.1  Chapman,  it  is  true,  is  too  often  involved, 
obscure,  and  excessive,  but  with  him  it  is  rather  a  matter  of  tor- 
tuous phraseology,  and  of  overwrought  hyperbole,  than  of  any 
weakness  of  the  image-conceiving  power.  Seldom  does  he 
descend  to  mere  absurdities  like  the  following  from  La  Fin's 
speech  to  Henry  in  Act  I  scene  i  of  Byron's  Conspiracy :~ 

"Nor  shall  frowns  and  taunts,   .   .   . 
Keep  my  free  throat  from  knocking  at  the  sky." 

Or  later  (Act  IV  scene  i):3 

"tell  our  brother  .   .   . 
...   in  what  prayers  we  raise  our  hearts  to  heaven, 
That  in  more  terror  to  his  foes,  and  wonder, 
He  may  drink  earthquakes,  and  devour  the  thunder." 

The  love  of  hyperbole,  indeed,  was  the  great  provocative  of 
catachresis  among  the  Elizabethans.  But  the  heightening  of  fig- 
ure throughout  the  greater  years  of  the  drama  is  emotional  rather 
than  visual  or  logical.  Elliptical  figures  which  border  on  the 
non-logical  prevail,  at  least  in  tragedy  —  "good  wits  will  apply" 
was  the  motto  of  the  age.  For  those  who  care  to  apply  the  test 
there  are  few  of  these  that  cannot  be  resolved  syllogistically  after 
the  manner  of  Lord  Karnes4  or  of  Dr.  Abbott,5  but  the  process  is 
not  the   real   process   psychologically  underlying  their  composi- 

1  See  examples  of  mixed  metaphor  in  Marlowe,  supra,  pp.  36-37. 
-  Chapman,  p.  217a. 

3  Id.,  p.  235b;  see  also  164b. 

4  Elements  of  Criticism.--,  II  282  f. 

5  Shaksperian  Grammar,  §§  517  f. 


1 82  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

tion.  Later,  and  in  comedy  even  as  early  as  Lyly,  intellectual 
fancy  and  mere  conceits  get  the  upper  hand  of  nature  and  pas- 
sion. 

Of  the  rapid  transition  from  image  to  image  which  borders 
on  catachresis,  but  which  is  always  characteristic  of  the  highly 
metaphorical  and  impassioned  style,  Webster  himself,  exact  and 
clear  cut  as  his  mental  processes  habitually  are,  offers  several 
examples  : 

"  Let  the  young  man  play  still  upon  the  bit, 
Till  we  have  brought  and  train 'd  him  to  our  lure."x 

"  His  smooth  crest  hath  cast  a  palped  film 
Over  Rome's  eyes."2 

Other  passages  in  which  simile  treads  upon  the  heel  of  simile 
exist  in  great  number  and  have  already  been  referred  to.3 

Conceits  and  verbal   and  intellectual  jugglery  of  every  type 
are   a   marked   characteristic   in   greater  or  less  degree   of  almost 
the  entire  body  of  Elizabethan  literature.     Under 
Conceits  each  dramatist  reference  already  has  been  made  to 

numerous  examples  of  conceits  and  plays  upon 
words.  In  tragedy  they  generally  appear  under  the  form  of 
hyperbole.  In  romantic  and  popular  comedy  they  assume  every 
form,  from  Lyly's  Euphuism  and  Shakspere's  infinitely  varied 
archness,  artifice,  and  drollery,  to  Jonson's  colloquialism,  and  the 
fantastical  and  metaphysical  subleties  of  the  later  school. 

In  comedy  and  occasionally  in  more  serious  drama  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  these  and  similar  aberrations  from  classical 
taste  are  very  frequently  in  keeping  and  have  a  justification  in 
the  ethos  of  a  drama  which  holds  the  mirror  up  to  a  life  and  a 
society  so  romantic,  fantastic,  and  extravagant  as  that  of  the 
Elizabethan  age  in  many  respects  was.  The  chief  defect  of 
frigid  and  "metaphysical"  conceits  is  precisely  the  lack  of  such 
a  justification  in  dramatic  truth  or  other  adequate  aesthetic 
motive. 

1  Webster,  p.  160b;  cf.  also  161b  ("under  his  smooth  calmness  cloaks  a 
tempest"). 

2  Id.  p.  162a. 

3  Supra,  pp.  xii,  177  f. 


SUMMARY  A.XD  CONCLUSIONS.  183 

That  extravagant  forcing  of  t lie  analogical    faculty  which   is 
the  basis  of  conceits,  takes  various  tonus  in  the  Elizabethan  dram- 
atists.1    Conceits  that  strangely  intensify  dramatic 

rama  ic  effect  are  not  uncommon.     Webster's  similes,  which 

Conceits  ,       ,  ...  , 

often   border   on   conceits   in    the   remoteness   and 

unexpectedness  of  their  analogies,  almost  never  fail  to  emphasize 

id  enforce   the  exact   tone   of  dramatic   feeling  desirable   and 

desired  in  any  given   situation.     Thus   in    The  White  Devil  the 

taunting  irony  of  Monticelso's  speech  to   Francisco  de  Medici  is 

accentuated  by  the  seemingly  careless  strangeness  of   his  phrase: 

"Come,  come,  my  lord,  untie  your  folded  thoughts, 
And  let  them  dangle  loose  as  a  bride's  hair :  — 
Your  sister  s  poisori  d."* 

Tourneur  is  even  more  impressive  in  such  effects  : 

"  Hast  thou  beguil'd  her  of  salvation 
And  rubb'd  hell  o'er  with  honey?"3 

"Slaves  are  but  nails  to  drive  out  one  another."4 
Or  in  that  most  dramatic  interview  between  the  two  brothers 
Vindici  and  Hippolito  and  their  mother  in  Act  IV,  scene  iv,  of 
The  Revenger's  Tragedy,5  how  sudden  and  intense  is  the  emo- 
tional transition  indicated  bv  Vindici's  ironical  metaphor  at  sight 
of  his  mother's  repentance  : 

"Nay,  an  you  draw  tears  once,  go  to  bed  .... 
Brother,  it  rains;  'twill  spoil  your  dagger;  house  it." 

Airy  and  fantastic  conceits,  the  very  false  gallop  of  wits,  are  first 

exemplified  in  Lyly's  comedies.     The  entire   Euphuistic  natural 

history  is  a  string  of  conceits.     But  Lyly  excels  also 

Airy  and  jn  Sprjghtly  and  witty  dialogue  elaborated  through 

_  mazes  of  fantastic  conceit.      He  delights  to  pursue 

Conceits  &  ' 

airy  poetical  fancies  through  all  the  possible  varia- 
tions of  metaphor.  Here  is  a  fragment  of  dialogue  between 
Cupid  and  a  Nymph  of  Diana:6 

1  On  verbal  conceits  and  plays  on  words  in  the  drama,  cf.  A.  W;  Sclilegel, 
Dramatic  Art  and  Literature,  trans.  Black,  p.  366. 

2  Webster,  p.  27a.  *Tourneur,  II  103. 

3  Tourneur,  II  54.  5  Id.  122. 

6  Lyly,  I  223  (Gallathea   I   ii);  see   I  53  ("my  palace  is  paved   with   urass, 


184  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Nymph:  Love,  good  sir,  what  mean  you  by  it?  or  what  do 
you  call  it? 

Cupid:  A  heat  full  of  coldness,  a  sweet  full  of  bitterness,  a 
pain  full  of  pleasantness  ;  which  maketh  thoughts  have  eyes,  and 
hearts  ears  ;  bred  by  desire,  nursed  by  delight,  weaned  by  jealousy, 
killed  by  dissembling,  buried  by  ingratitude  ;  and  this  is  love, 
fair  lady, —  will  you  any?" 

The  conceits  of  love,  following  the  motives  of  contemporary 
poetry,  are  frequently  introduced  by  other  dramatists.  Chapman 
in  All  Fools,  Act  IV,  scene  i,  draws  a  humorous  picture  of  the 
extravagant  lover : ' 

"  I  had  quite  been  drown'd  in  seas  of  tears 
Had  not  I  taken  hold  in  happy  time 
Of  this  sweet  hand ;  my  heart  had  been  consumed 
To  a  heap  of  ashes  with  the  flames  of  love, 
Had  it  not  sweetly  been  assuaged  and  cool'd 
With  the  moist  kisses  of  these  sugar'd  lips." 

And  similarly  Jonson  :2 

"  No  more  of  Love's  ungrateful  tyranny, 
His  wheels  of  torture,  and  his  pits  of  birdlime, 
His  nets  of  nooses,  whirlpools  of  vexation, 
His  mills  to  grind  his  servants  into  powder" — etc. 

Chapman's  comedies  contain  many  light  and  charming  conceits; 
thus  :  .  .  "  Indeed  thou  told'st  me  how  gloriously  he  apprehended 
the  favor  of  a  great  lady  i'  th'  presence,  whose  heart,  he  said,  stood 
a  tiptoe*  in  her  eye  to  look  at  ht'm,"A  or,  "Up  to  the  heart  in 
love;"5  or,  "She  hath  exiled  her  eyes  from  sleep;"6  or  this : 
"  Her  blood  went  and  came  of  errands  betwixt  her  face  and  her 

and  tiled  with  stars  ;  "  cf.  the  French  proverb — "dormir  a  la  belle  etoile  ;  "  cf. 
Webster,  152b  :  "This  three  months  did  we  never  house  our  heads  But  in  yon 
great  star-chamber;  cf.  Tourneur,  I  139:  "In  yon  star-chamber  thou  shalt 
answer  it  ") ;  or  see  II  1 14  (Halfpenny's  dream  of  prunes,  currants,  and  raisins) ; 
or  II  232  (Silvestris'  wooing  of  Niobe) ;  etc. 

1  Chapman,  68b. 

2  Jonson,  II  377a  (The  New  Inn,  IV  iii). 

3Cf.  Kyd,  Hazlitt's  Uodsley,  IV  391  ("my  blood  's  a  tiptoe"). 

4  Chapman,  133b  (Mons.  UOlive  IV  i). 

5  Chapman,  51a. 

6  Id.   328b. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  185 

hearty   and   these   changes   lean  tell  you  are  shrewd  tell-tales."1 
Compare  Webster,  132b; 

"I  cannot  set  myself  so  many  fathom 
Beneath  the  height  of  my  true  heart  as  fear." 

Or  see  the  gallant  Captain  Quintiliano's  comparison  of  the 
service  of  a  feast  with  the  honorable  service  of  the  field,  in  May- 
Day,  Act  IV,  scene  lv.a 

Jonson  is  full  of  comic  conceits,  at  times  grotesque  and  extrav- 
agant; satire  and  burlesque,  however,  is  usually  their  motive. 
Thus,  in  The  Staple  of News ,3  Act  IV,  scene  i  : 

"O,  how  my  princess  draws  me  with  her  looks, 
And  hales  me  in,  as  eddies  draw  in  boats, 
Or  strong  Charybdis  ships  that  sail  too  near 
The  shelves  of  love  !     The  tides  of  your  two  eyes, 
Wind  of  your  breath,  are  such  as  suck  in  all 
That  do  approach  you." 

Closely  akin  to  the  fantastic  conceits  so  characteristic  of  the 
romantic  comedy  vein  of  this  period  are  the  abstract  and  "meta- 
physical "  conceits   which,  occasionally  developed 

Abstract  3.nri 

in  tragedy  and  comedy  for  dramatic  purposes, 
Conceits  point  the  way  to  the  colder  and  more  vicious  style 

of  the  poetry  of  the  fantastic  school.  Many  of  the 
subtler  and  finer  effects  of  the  peculiar  Elizabethan  dramatic 
phraseology  depend  upon  figures  of  this  sort,  which  are  often 
tropological  paradoxes.  Thus  in  Chapman's  All  Fools,  Act  I,  scene 
i,  Yalerio,  whose  father  is  thwarting  his  aspirations  to  gentility  and 
trying  to  force  him  into  "husbandry,"  exclaims: 

"My  father?  why,  my  father,  does  he  think 
To  rob  me  of  myself?  "4 

Similarly  in  Monsieur  D }  Olive,  Act  IV,  scene  i  : 

"You  know  the  use  of  honor,  that  will  ever 
Retire  into  itself."* 

Similarly  Tourneur6  (though  scarcely  metaphorical)  : 

"Joy  's  a  subtle  elf. 
I  think  man's  happiest  when  he  forgets  himself." 

1  Chapman,  p.  317a.  4  Chapman,  p.  49a. 

2  Id.  p.  300.      .  s  Chapman,  130b. 

3lonson,  II  317b.  'Tourneur,  II   124;   cf.  Webster,  49b,  83a. 


1 86  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

And  also:    "  What,  brother?     Am  I  far  enough  from  myself?"1 
Or:   "Mother,  come  from  that  poisonous  woman  there."2 
And  Jonson,3  translating  Persius'  "  Ne  te  qiuesiveris  extra"  : 

"as  if  I  lived 
To  any  other  scale  than  what 's  my  own, 
Or  sought  myself  without  myself,  from  home."4 

Similar  subtleties  abound  : 

"O,  at  that  word 
I'm  lost  again;  you  cannot  find  me  yet ; 
I'm  in  a  throng  of  happy  apprehensions."5 

"  'twas  spoke  by  one 
That  is  most  inward  with  the  duke's  son's  lust."6 

"Here   was    the  ....  fittest  hour,    to  have  made    my  reveng? 

familiar  with  him."7 

So  Kyd:8  "since  I  grew  inward  with  revenge." 

Kyd  again:9    "He  had  not  seen  the  back  of  nineteen  years." 

Chapman  : IO  "  O,  the  infinite  regions  betwixt  a  woman's  tongue 

and  her  heart !      Similarly  Jonson  :  " 

"If  this  were  true  now  !   but  the  space,  the  space, 
Between  the  breast  and  lips  —  Tiberius'  heart 
Lies  a  thought  farther  than  another  man's." 

Webster:12     "O,  the  secret  of  my  prince, 

Which  I  will  wear  on  the  inside  of  my  heart." 

So  Shakspere:13         "I  will  wear  him 

In  my  heart's  core." 

Jonson  :14  "They  say  lines  parallel  do  never  meet, 

He  has  met  his  parallel  in  wit  and  school-craft." 

I  Touraeur,  II  24.  2  Id.  II  51. 

3  Jonson,  II  350b  {The  New  Inn,  II  i  ). 

4  Cf.  Ford,  II  287  {Fancies  Chaste  and  Noble  IV  i):  "Come  home  again 
....  to  thine  own  simplicity." 

s  Tourneur,  II  81.  8  Hazlitt's  Dodsley,  V  168. 

6Tourneur,  II  59.  9  Id.  105. 

7  Id.  II  130.  I0  Chapman,  158b. 

II  Jonson,  I  295b.  Similarly  see  Shirley,  The  Witty  Fair  One,  I  iii  (Mer- 
maid ed.,  p.  13)  and  Hyde  Park,  III  ii  (p.  221);  also  Beaumont  and  Fletchen 
Philaster,  I  i,  (Mermaid  ed.  I,  p.  III). 

12  Webster,  80a.  "4  Jonson,  II  353b. 

^  Hamlet,\\\  ii  70. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  187 


Ford  : '  "  My  soul 

Runs  circular  in  sorrow  for  revenge.' 


'o' 


Tourneur,  II  137:  "All  sorrows 

Must  run  their  circles  into  joys." 

Chapman:1  "Hereafter?      Tis  a  supposed  infinite." 

Tourneur  : ; 

"Make  ....  A  drunkard  clasp  his  teeth  and  not  undo  'em, 
To  surfer  wet  damnation  to  run  through  'em." 

Sententious  ideas  similarly  are  often  cast  into  the  form  of 
quasi-conceits  for  a  juster  emphasis,  as  in  Jonson:4  "It  is  a  com- 
petency to  him  that  he  can  be  virtuous."      Or  Webster  :5 

"  I  have  long  served  virtue 
And  ne'er  ta'en  wages  of  her." 

Or  Tourneur6  :  "  Patience  is  the  honest  man's  revenge." 

Colossal  conceits,  conceits  that  become  hyperboles,  as  well  as 
those  that  are  simply  crude  and  extravagant,  exist  in  great  num- 
ber thioughout    the    Elizabethan    drama.      In    the 

_        .,  best  passages  and  in  the  best  authors  we  are  never 

Conceits  t         ° 

safe  from  them.  Flamineo's  dying  speech  in  The 
White  Devil,1  in  the  very  resolution  of  the  tragic  knot,  is  spoiled 
by  this  bit  of  atrocity,  unworthy  of  Donne  or  of  Cowley: 

"  My  life  was  a  black  charnel.     I  have  caught 
An  everlasting  cold;   I  have  lost  my  voice 
Most  irrecoverably." 

And  similarly  in  The  Duchess  of  Malfi,  this  is"  part  of  Ferdi- 
nand's dying  speech: 

"Give  me  some  wet  hay;  I  am   broken  winded. 
I  do  account  this  world  but  a  dog-kennel."8 

In  Jonson's  Sad  Shepherd9  Amie's  love-plaints  are  such  as 
this  : 

"  I  weep,  and  boil  away  myself  in  tears; 
And  then  my  panting  heart  would  dry  those  fears; 
I  burn,  though  all  the  forest  lend  a  shade,"  etc. 

■Ford,  I  188.  6Tourneur,  I  153. 

'Chapman,  169b.  'Webster,  50b. 

^Tourneur,  II  83.  *  Id.  iool>. 

* Jonson,  I    162.  « Jonson,  II   501k 
Webster,  65a. 


1 88  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

The  height  of  the  bizarre  however  is  reached  in  Chapman's 
comparison  :  ' 

"  Love  is  a  razor,  cleansing  being  well  used, 
But  fetcheth  blood,  still  being  the  least  abused." 

Or  in  his  similes  of  the  shoeing  horn:  "Make  both  their 
absences  shoeing-horns  to  draw  on  the  presence  of  ^Emilia.* 

Shakspere  makes  use  of  the  same  comparison  in  Troilus  and 
Cressida,  V  i  53,  describing  Menelaus  as  "a  thrifty  shoeing-horn 
in  a  chain,  hanging  at  his  brother's  leg." 

Worse  in  effect  because  seriously  meant  is  Bussy  D'  Ambois' 
dying  injunction  :  3 

"  Tell  them  all  that  D'  Ambois  now  is  hasting 
To  the  eternal  dwellers;   that  a  thunder 
Of  all  their  sighs  together  for  their  frailties 
Beheld  in  me,  may  quit  my  worthless  fall 
With  a  fit  volley  for  my  funeral." 

—  recalling  Tourneur  : 4 

"  His  gasping  sighs  are  like  the  falling  noise 
Of  some  great  building,  when  the  ground-work  breaks." 

Worse  yet  is  D'  Amville's  imprecation  in  the  Atheist's  Tragedy. s 

"  Dead  be  your  tongues  !     Drop  out 
Mine  eye-balls  and  let  envious  Fortune  play 
At  tennis  with  'em." 

Hyperbole,  bombast,  and  extravagance  are  absent  from   few 

of  the  Elizabethans.     Kyd,  Marlowe,  Greene,  and  Chapman  show 

the  most,  although  passages  of  it  are  to   be  found 

Hyperbole  here  and  there   in   almost  every  playwright  of  the 

"*      *  time.      In  fact  hyperbolical  expression  was  a  recog- 

Elizabethan 

Drama  nized    form   of   dramatic  emphasis.     The  way  had 

been  prepared  for  it  by  the  Herods,  the  devils,  and 

the   huffing  young  gallants   of  the    mystery  and   morality   plays. 

The  passion  and  the  imagination  of  the  period  as  reflected  in  its 

minor  writers,  whatever  qualities  of   exaltation   and  of   beauty  it 

has,  is  also  at  times  fundamentally  crude  and  violent,  especially 

'Chapman,  165a.  ■>  Tourneur,  I  136. 

2  Chapman,  291a;  similarly,  136b,  137b.     5  Id.  I  54. 

3  Id.  175b. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  189 

in  the  popular  drama,  which  was  so  Largely  freed  from  all  restraints 
of  literary  form  and  tradition.  The  introduction  of  the  element 
of  literary  form  and  tradition  by  Marlowe  and  his  associates 
affected  the  use  of  hyperbole  In  two  ways.  In  the  first  place  it 
reduced  the  harshness  and  formlessness  of  the  earlier  rant  into 
some  sort  of  measure;  and  in  the  second  place  it  tended  to  sub- 
stitute poetical  and  idealized  forms  of  passion  for  the  mere  bar- 
barism of  the  earlier  extravagance.  Tamburlaine 's  magnificence 
and  hyperbole  is  immeasurable  but  it  is  idealized.  The  weak 
points  of  the  new  style,  however,  were  very  quickly  seen  and  satire 
of  Kvd  and  Greene  and  the  other  early  emulators  and  imitators 
of  Marlowe  in  this  vein  begins  at  once.  In  the  second  part  of 
The  Return  from  Parnassus,  Act  III,  sc.  iv  and  following,  in  the 
part  of  Furor  Poeticus,  there  is  some  significant  burlesque  of  the 
new  style.  Tamburlaine's  habitual  hyperbolical  insolence  towards 
the  gods  — 

"  The  God  of  wars  resigns  his  room  to  me, 
Meaning  to  make  me  general  of  the  world: 
Jove  viewing  me  in  arms,  looks  pale  and  wan. 
Fearing  my  power  should  pull  him  from  his  throne," — ' 

seems  to  be  the  general  model  of  the  burlesque  invocation  of 
Furor  Poeticus  :" 

"  Awake,  vou  paltry  trulls  of  Helicon, 
Or,  by  this  light,  I'll  swagger  with  you  straight. 
You,  grandsire  Phoebus,  with  your  lovely  eye, 
The  firmament's  eternal  vagabond, 
The  heaven's  prompter  that  doth  peep  and  pry 
Into  the  acts  of  mortal  tennis-balls, 
Inspire  me  straight  with  some  rare  delicies, 
Or  I'll  dismount  thee  from  thy  radiant  coach, 
And  make  thee  a  poor  Cutchy  [coachee?]  here  on  earth." 

The  romantic  and  swelling  hyperbole  of  Marlowe  and  Chapman, 
however,  with  its  frequent  classical  phraseology,  soon  gives 
way  to  a  less  profuse  and  more  dramatic  manner.  The  hyper- 
bole of  Titanic  insolence  yields  to  the  hyperbole  of  violence  and 

'/  Tamburlaine,  V  ii  (Works  I  p.  102  ;  cf.  similarly  pp,  189,  198,  etc.). 
2  Parnassus,  ed.  Macray,  p.  123. 

3 See  also  the  reference  to  "three-piled  hyperbole"  in   Biron's    speech   in 
Love's  Labor  s  Lost  V  ii  407. 


190 


METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 


I 


tragic  exaggeration.     Webster,  for  example,  uses  little  hyperbole, 
but  that  little  abounds  in  dramatic  intensity  : 

"  Hell  to  my  affliction 
Is  mere  snow-water."  * 

"  In  the  sea's  bottom  sooner  thou  shalt  make 
A  bonfire."8 

"  Other  sins  only  speak  ;   murder  shrieks  out : 
The  element  of  water  moistens  the  earth, 
But  blood  flies  upward  and  bedews  the  heavens."  3 

Personification  as  a  dramatic  mode  was  made  familiar  to  the 

sixteenth   century  English   public  by  the   morality 

,.     ^  plays.      "In  itself,"   as  Mr.  Pollard  says,4  "as  tend- 

in  the  Drama      l     J  J   ' 

ing   to    didacticism  and    unreality,    personification 

is  wholly   un dramatic."       This,    of    course,    is    to    be  understood 

merely   of    full,    or    formal,    abstract    personification.       Personal 

^  metaphors,    on    the    other    hand,    and    tropes    involving    intense 

and    emotional    anthropomorphism,   in   themselves 

are   oftentimes    the   most    dramatic   of   all   figures. 

What  phrase,  for  example,  could  express  more 
vividly  the  idea  of  the  reproach  of  associates  for  another's  coward- 
ice or  degeneracy  than  to  say  : 

"the  scorn  of  their  discourse 
Turns  smiling  back  upon  your  backwardness."5 

Figures  of  this  class,  more  than  any  other,  are  the  foundation 
of  the  true  Elizabethan  dramatic  diction.  Striking  examples 
are  : 

"'fore  heaven  my  heart  shrugs  at  it." 
"  Drunkards,  spew 'd  out  of  taverns." 

"  never  shall  my  counsels  cease  to  knock 
At  thy  impatient  ears." 

256a:     "I  would  your  dagger's  point  had  kiss' 'd  my 
heart." 


Personal 
Metaphors 


Chapman,  337a 

3i5a 
97a  : 


Jonson, I   299a : 

1  Webster,  15a. 

2  Id.  31b. 

3  Id.  90a. 


His  thoughts  look  through  his  words." 

4  Engl.  Miracle  Plays,  Introd.,  p.  xliii. 

5  Tourneur,  1  9 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  I  <H 

138:     "the   plague   that   treads  on   the  heels  o1  vour 
foppery." 

Webster,  118b:     "till  the  grave  gather  one  of  us." 

131a:  "such  a  guilt  as  would  have  lain 

Howling  forever  at  your  wounded  heart, 
And  rose  with  you  to  judgment." 

80a  :      "  Sir,  your  direction  Shall  lead  me  by  the  hand." 

Tourneur,  I  28  :    "Her  modest  blush  fell  to  a. pale  dislike." 

Marlowe,  I  223  :  "the  gloomv  shadow  of  the  earth   .   .   . 

Leaps  from  the  antarctic  world  into  the  sky." 

II  202  "O  my  stars, 

Why  do  you  lour  unkindly  on  a  king?" 

Formal  and  abstract  personification,  however,  is  very  common, 

especially  in  the  earlier  drama,  where  it  usually  takes   poetical  or 

classical    forms.       Personifications    of    Death,    the 

„         .-  Fates,  the  Furies,  Fortune,  Occasion,  and  the  like, 

Personification 

abound  throughout  Greene,  Peele,  and  Marlowe. 
They  are  very  prominent  also  in  Chapman's  high-tragedy  style. 
Among  the  more  dramatic  poets  like  Webster  and  Tourneur 
formal  personification  becomes  rarer  and  briefer,  as  in  Webster's* 

"Lust  carries  her  sharp  whip 
At  her  own  girdle." 

Or —       "  O  sacred  innocence,  that  sweetly  sleeps 

On  turtles'  feathers,  whilst  a  guilty  conscience 
Is  a  black  register  wherein  is  writ 
All  our  good  deeds  and  bad."2 

Or  Vindici's  apostrophe  in  Tourneur:3 

"Sword,  I  durst  make  a  promise  of  him  to  thee; 
Thou  shalt  dis-heir  him  ;   it  shall  be  thine  honor." 

Such  personifications  are  full  of  meaning  and  dramatic  force. 
The  degree  of  feeling  involved  in  any  personification  is  usually 
the  measure  of  its  merit,  and  in  the  utterance  of  feeling  personifi- 
cation never  is  an  outworn  form.  Poverty  of  significance  and  of 
poetic  emotion  is  the  general  characteristic  of  mere  capital-letter 
personification,  and  this  precisely  is  what  distinguishes  the  man- 

'P.  12b.  »P.  91b.  an,  p.  33, 


192  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

ner  of  the  English  "  classical "  period  from  that  of  the  Elizabethan 
period. 

In  regard  to  the  general  range  of  observation  and  the  sources 
in   nature   and   human   life   from  which  the   Eliza- 
General  Range    bethan  dramatists  included  in  this  study  draw  their 

.  „,  .  metaphors  and  similes  the  most  striking  fact  to  be 

of  Tropes  in  r  ° 

the  Drama  noted  is   the   more  narrowly   poetical   character  of 

the  earlier  dramatic  writing  and  its  reliance  upon 
the  more  conventional  artifices  of  composition,  resulting  in  a 
much  larger  proportion  of  nature  similes,  and  of  nature  similes 
handled  after  a  more  or  less  conventional  method,  than  in  the 
following  and  more  dramatic  period.     In  the  treatment  of  nature 

indeed,  although  only  a  small  part  of  their  task,  the 

,  „  L  dramatists   of    the   entire   period    seldom    advance 

of  Nature  * 

beyond  the  conventional  and  ornamental  manner. 
There  is  a  tinge  of  the  Euphuistic  natural  history,  an  odor  of  the 
lamp  about  almost  all  their  observations  of  things  natural.  Poeti- 
cal touches  are  not  rare,  but  there  is  little  evidence  of  much  keen- 
ness or  delicacy  of  nature-observation.1  A  few  examples,  how- 
ever, are  worth  recording  :      Chapman  47a  : 

"like  the  lark 
Mounting  the  sky  in  shrill  and  cheerful  notes, 
Chanting  his  joys  aspired." 

65b  :     "  Like  a  jackdaw,  that,  when  he  lights  upon 
A  dainty  morsel,  kaa's  and  makes  his  brags, 
And  then  some  kite  doth  scoop  it  from  him  straight." 

164a  :     "Here's  nought  but  whispering  with  us  ;   like  a  calm 
Before  a  tempest,  when  the  silent  air 
Lays  her  soft  ear  close  to  the  earth  to  hearken 
For  that  she  fears  steals  on  to  ravish  her." 

207b:  "  that  resembles 

The  weighty  and  the  goodly  bodied  eagle, 
Who,  being  on  earth,  before  her  shady  wings 
Can  raise  her  into  air,  a  mighty  way 
Close  by  the  ground  she  runs." 

245b  :     "We  must  ascend  to  our  intention's  top 

Like  clouds  that  be  not  seen  till  they  be  up."2 

*Cf.  Symonds,  Essays  Speculative  and  Suggestive,  417. 
2  See  also  Chapman,  p.  543a- 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  IQ3 

Jonson,  II  490a  :      "  turf  as  soft  and  smooth  as  the  mole's  skin." 

I  371b  :     "  When  she  came  in  like  starlight." 

Jonson,  I  291b:  "to  present  the  shapes 

<  if  dangers  greater  than  they  are,  like  late 
Or  early  shadows." 

Marlowe,  I  201  :      '"Thus  are  the  coward  villains  fled  for  fear 

Like  summer  vapors  vanished  by  the  sun." 

Spenser's  method  of  nature  treatment,  graceful  and  charming, 
but  highly  conventional,  and  following  so  strictly  the  poetical 
traditions,  is,  generallv  speaking,  the  accepted  method  of  the 
Elizabethan  drama.  Spenser.1  following  Chaucer  closelv,  enume- 
rates the  trees  contained  in  his  Wood  of   Error  : 

"  The  sailing  pine,  the  cedar  proud  and  tall. 
The  vine-prop  elm,  the  poplar  never  dry." 

and  so  on  ;  the  obvious  comment  on  which,  neglecting  consider- 
ation of  the  possible  allegorical  justification  of  the  description,  is 
that  all  these  trees  were  never  known  in  nature  to  grow  together 
in  one  forest.  In  the  same  way  Mr.  J.  A.  Svmonds1  notes  a 
flower  passage  in  one  of  Ben  Jonson's  masques3  in  which  there  is 
a  similar  confusion  of  nature's  ways.  The  true  answer  to  such 
criticisms  perhaps  is  that,  however  much  such  descriptions  may 
err  scientifically,  aesthetically  they  are  justifiable,  at  least  so  long 
as  the  reader's  sense  of  beautv  is  satisfied  and  is  still  untroubled 
by  suggestions  ab  extra  of  discord  and  discrepancy.4 

The  pathetic  fallacy  naturally  is  frequent  in  the 
The  Pathetic 

„  ..                    nature    similes    of    the  dramatists.     A    charming1 

Fallacy  & 

illustration    is   found    in    one    or   two    lines   of  the 
opening  speech  of  Ben  Jonson's  Sad  Shepherd? 

1  Fairy  Queen,  I  i  8.  Cf.  also  "Virgil's  Gnat  "  1  Spenser,  Globe  ed.,  p.  506), 
and  the  flower  passage  in  "Muiopotmos"  (p.  534). 

2Shaks.  Pred.,  351. 

3  "Pan's  Anniversary"  (Works  III   184). 

*  See  Aristotle's  Poetic  ch.  xxv :  "  The  poet  errs  if  what  he  fabricates  is 
impossible  according  to  the  art  itself;  but  it  will  be  right  if  the  end  <>(  poetry 
is  obtained  by  it."     ( Buckley's  translation.  1 

MI  4S9.  A  similarly  charming  passage  occurs  in  Shirlev,  The  Willy  Fair 
One,  I  ii. 


194  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

"  Here  she  was  wont  to  go  !  and  here  !  and  here  ! 
Just  where  those  daisies,  pinks,  and  violets  grow  : 
The  world  may  find  the  spring  by  following  her  : 
For  other  print  her  airy  steps  ne'er  left. 
Her  treading  would  not  bend  a  blade  of  grass, 
Or  shake  the  downy  blow-ball  from  his  stalk! 
But  like  the  soft  west  wind  she  shot  along 
And  where  she  went  the  flowers  took  thickest  root, 
As  she  had  sowed  them  with  her  odorous  foot." 

"The  flattering  green"  is  an  epithet  from  Lyly.1 

"  As  when  the  moon  hath  comforted  the  night 
And  set  the  world  in  silver  of  her  light" 

is  a  couplet  from  Chapman.2  "The  golden  fawnings  of  the  sun  " 
is  another  phrase  of  his.3  His  fine  simile  of  the  oak  in  Arden4 
has  many  similar  touches  : 

"  Then,  as  in  Arden,  I  have  seen  an  oak 
Long  shook  with  tempests,  and  his  lofty  top 
Bent  to  his  root,  which  being  at  length  made  loose. 
Even  groaning  with  his  weight,  he  'gan  to  nod 
This  way  and  that,  as  loth  his  curled  brows, 
Which  he  had  oft  wrapt  in  the  sky  with  storms, 
Should  stoop  ;  and  yet.  his  radical  fibres  burst, 
Storm-like  he  fell,  and  hid  the  fear-cold  earthy 

Others  furnish  various  noteworthy  illustrations  of  the  same  figure: 
Marlowe,  I  46  :  "  Always  moving  as  the  restless  spheres." 

174:  "  Making  the  meteors  .  .  . 

Run  tilting  round  about  the  firmament, 
And  break  their  burning  lances  in  the  air," 

Jonson, I  248a : 

"  the  loving  air. 
That  closed  her  body  in  his  silken  arms." 

I  92  :  Perfumes  "To  keep  the  air  in  awe  of  her  sweet  nostrils." 
Tourneur,  I  1  7  : 

"  The  lovely  face  of  heaven  was  masqu'd  with  sorrow, 
The  sighing  winds  did  move  the  breast  of  earth, 
The  heavy  clouds  hung  down  their  mourning  heads, 
And  wept  sad  showers  the  day  that  he  went  hence." 

See  also  in  Tourneur,  I  40-41,  the  description  of  the  weeping  sea 

ll   173.       2  P.  227a.      3  p.  251a.     4P.  148;  see  also  p.  445b. 


> 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  195 

embracing  the   body   of  Charlemont.     But   the  passionate  and 

imaginative  appeal   to  the  anthropomorphic  instinct   is  nowhere 

more    vividly    uttered     than    in    this    apostrophe    from     Webster 

(p.  40b): 

"O  thou  soft  natural  death,  that  art  joint-twin 
To  sweetest  slumber  !   Xo  rough-bearded  comet 
Stares  on  thy  mild  departure  ;  the  dull  owl 
Beats  not  against  thv  casement  ;  the  hoarse  wolf 
Scents  not  thv  carrion  :  pity  winds  thy  corse, 
Whilst  horror  waits  on  princes." 

Most  striking  of  all  dramatic  examples  of  the  pathetic  fallacy,  it 
only  it  were  more  removed  from  sensationalism,  is  Vindici's 
exclamation  in  The  Revenger  s  Tragedy,  V  iii,  on  hearing  a  peal 
of  thunder  just  as  he  and  his  fellow-conspirators  are  wreaking 
their  murderous  revenge  : 

"  Mark,  Thunder  ! 
Dost  know  thy  cue,  thou  big-voie'd  crier?" 

In  fact  throughout  the  nature  similes  of  the  Elizabethan  drama- 
tists  the  second  term  of  the  simile,  or  the  aspect  of  nature 
brought  into  comparison  with  any  given  human  or  dramatic 
motive  or  idea,  is  usually  kept  subordinate,  so  that  a  vivid  picture 
is  seldom  formed.  The  simile  of  the  oak  in  Arden,  just  cited 
from  Chapman,  is  an  exception,  but  such  exceptions  are  rare  and 
Chapman's  tragic  manner  at  best  is  epic  rather  than  dramatic. 
It  is  the  remote  or  the  curious  or  novel  in  nature  that  interest 
these  poets,  rather  than  the  familiar  and  the  deeply  significant 
things  such  as  the  modern  poet  by  preference  observes.  The 
Euphuistic  natural  history  attracted  them  because  of  its  romantic 
associations  and  of  the  ease  with  which  it  may  be  applied  for 
sententious  illustrations.  Still  the  sky,  the  sun,  the  stars,  clouds, 
flowers,  and  the  like,  frequently  freshen  the  poetry  of  Greene 
Peele,  and  Marlowe.     Simple  images  in  I'eele,  like 

••  As  when  of  Leicester's  hall  and  bower 
Thou  wert  the  rose  and  sweetest  flower,'' 

or  "  Pale,  like  mallow  flowers," 

or  "  Why  should  so  fair  a  star  stand  in  a  vale, 

And  not  be  seen  to  sparkle  in  the  skv?" 


196  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

are  the  source  of   half   the  slender  grace  of  his  lines.     And  there 
are  a  few  similar  touches  in  Greene  ;  for  example  : 

"  Gracious  as  the  morning  star  of  heaven." 

"  Thy  father's  hair,  like  to  the  silver  blooms 
That  beautify  the  shrubs  of  Africa." 

Thunder,  comets,  and  other  hyperbolical  images  are  characteristic 
of  Marlowe,  but  he  has  a  few  fine  nature-similes  : 

I  145  :  "  Their  ensigns  spread 

Look  like  the  parti-colored  clouds  of  heaven." 

I  179  :  "  My  chariot,  swifter  than  the  racking  clouds." 

I  179  :   "  The  horse  that  guide  the  golden  eye  of  heaven 

And  blow  the  morning  from  their  nosterils, 
Making  their  fiery  gait  above  the  clouds." 

II  263:  "  I  go  as  whirlwinds  rage  before  a  storm." 

I  276:    "  Oh,  thou  art  fairer  than  the  evening  air 
Clad  in  the  beautv  of  a  thousand  stars." 

But  the  range  is  not  wide,  nor  is  there  any  subtlety  of  obser- 
vation in  the  nature  similes  of  the  pre-Shaksperian  drama. 
Later  the  poetical  touches  are  rarer,  but  the  range  of  mental 
association  becomes  more  subtle  and  novel,  while  at  the  same 
time,  as  already  remarked,  the  intensity  of  the  dramatic  connota- 
tion almost  swallows  up  the  nature  image  itself.  Thus  Webster, 
1  7a  : 

"  Like  mistletoe  on  sear  elms  spent  by  weather, 
Let  him  cleave  to  her,  and  both  rot  together." 

Or  172b, 

"Thou  lovest  me,  Appius,  as  the  earth  loves  rain  : 
Thou  fain  wouldst  swallow  me." 

Chapman,  147b: 

"  D'Ambois,  that  like  a  laurel  put  in  fire 
Sparkled  and  spit." 

Similarly  Jonson,  I  157  :   .   .   .   "not  utter  a  phrase  but  what  shalt 
come  forth  steeped   in  the  very  brine  of  conceit,  and  sparkle  like 
salt  in  fire." 
Jonson, I  72a : 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  197 

"  Made  my  cold  passion  stand  upon  inv  face, 
Like  drops  of  dew  on  a  stiff  cake  of  ice." 

But  this  borders  on  the  bizarre,  as  do  many  of  Jonson's  colloquial 

comparisons  : 

I  266b:  "like  so  many  screaming  grasshoppers 

Held  by  the  wings,  fill  every  ear  with  noise." 

1  349b  :  "All  her  looks  are  sweet, 

As  the  first  grapes  or  cherries." 

But,  generally  speaking,  nature  is  important  in  the  drama 
only  in  large  and  conventional  metaphors  or  as  linked  with  man 
and  human  sympathies.  In  the  Elizabethan  drama,  certainly, 
man  was  the  chief  center  of  interest,  but  man  imaginatively  con- 
ceived. Unless  imagination  be  understood  as  something  alien 
from  human  passion,  Buckle's  generalization1  that  imagination  is 
most  active  in  man  chiefly  when  he  is  directly  subject  to  the 
stimulus  of  natural  objects  and  forces  is  not  borne  out  by  the 
dramatic  literature  of  the  age  of  Elizabeth.  The  storm  and 
stress  of  human  passion,  reflected  in  this  literature,  excited  men's 
imaginations  throughout  this  period  perjiaps  as  much  as  they 
have  ever  been  excited  by  natural  phenomena  in  any  wise.  Cer- 
tain aspects  of  nature  there  were  during  the  days  of  Elizabeth, 
such  as  the  new  discoveries  in  astronomy  and  geography,  which 
stirred  men's  thoughts  profoundly,  but  nature,  in  dramatic  liter- 
ature at  least,  is  reflected  at  second  hand,  and  the  larger  part  of 
its  nature  imagery  seems  borrowed  from  books,  and  especially 
from  classical  literature. 

In   the   realm   of  human   life,   on    the    contrary,   variety   and 

range  of  interest  and  keenness  and  subtlety  of  observation  rapidly 

developed   and   extended.     Novelty,   appositeness, 
Treatment  of  ,    ,  .  ,         ,     . 

„  T . ,  and   force   are   the   marks  of  the  significant  tropes 

Human  Life  °  ' 

drawn  from  the  field  of  human    life   in    the   typical 
Elizabethan  drama.    Here  at  least  most  of  the  studies  are  made  from 

'Hist,  of  Civilization  in  Engl.  (N.  V.,  1S72),  Vol.  I.,  pp.  85  f.  —  e.g. 
"Under  some  aspects,  nature  is  more  prominent  than  man,  under  others,  man 
than  nature.  In  the  former  case  the  imagination  is  more  stimulated  than  the 
understanding,  and  to  this  class  all  the  earliest  civilizations  belong.  I  lie- 
imagination  is  excited  by  earthquakes  and  volcanoes,  and  fiv  dangei  generally." 


198  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

the  living  model,  and  the  work  is  rammed  with  life,  crude  and 
boisterous,  tragic  and  passionate,  or  tender  and  noble.  The  early 
school,  it  is  true,  offers  little  evidence  of  close  observation  or 
dramatic  rendering.  It  was  the  function  of  the  university  wits 
to  soften  and  enrich  the  diction  of  the  popular  drama,  and  to 
give  it  certain  elements  of  literary  form.  Yet  in  such  plays  as 
Peek's  David  and  Bethsabe  and  Greene's  James  IF  the  beginnings 
of  the  close  observation  of  human  life  and  character  are  evident. 
David,  in  the  former,  is  an  original  study  in  passion,  and  Dor- 
thea  and  Ateukin,  in  the  latter,  are  the  rude  prototypes  of 
many  of  the  tender  and  forsaken  ladies  and  the  insinuating  vil- 
lains of  the  later  drama.  But  the  imagery  of  these  authors 
shows  little  observation  of  human  life,  and  consists  mostly  of 
conventional  nature  similes.  Lylv  with  his  fantastic  prose  and 
his  lively  colloquialisms  is  much  more  significant.  Marlowe,  of 
course,  was  the  great  originator  of  new  dramatic  forms  and  ideas, 
and  his  influence  in  the  development  of  the  drama  of  passion 
was  supreme.  But  he  is  not  rich  in  trope  and  his  imagery 
reveals  little  closeness  of  observation  of  the  ways  of  men  and  of 
the  various  aspects  of 'human  life.  In  Marlowe,  however,  the 
dramatic  conception  of  character  and  of  human  passion  and 
pathos  first  gathers  a  large  and  full  life.  Chapman  in  turn 
carries  to  an  extreme  the  grandiose  and  epical  tradition  of  trag- 
edy of  Marlowe  and  his  school,  but  his  comedies  are  of  another 
bent,  and  his  metaphors  and  similes  are  as  a  whole  wide  rang- 
ing and  varied  and  displav  considerable  observation  of  life. 
Webster  exhibits  the  finished  product  of  the  minor  Elizabethan 
tragedy  and  in  Webster  and  Tourneur  we  find  a  new  depth  and 
acuteness  of  psychological  observation.  It  is  difficult  to  cite 
elsewhere  in  English  literature,  outside  of  Shakspere,  home- 
thrusts,  flash-lights  turned  upon  the  human  heart  in  some  of 
its  states,  that  exceed  many  of  the  analogies  and  illustrations 
employed  by  these  writers. 

Webster,  81a:  " Pescara.     The  Lord  Ferdinand  laughs 
Delia.     Like  a  deadly  cannon 
That  lightens  ere  it  smokes." 

83b:   "  Bosola.     Your  brothers  mean  you  safetv  and  pitv. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  199 

The  Duchess.         Pity  ! 

With  such  a  pity  men  preserve  alive 

Pheasants  and  quails,  when  they  are  not  fat  enough 

To  be  eaten." 

32a  :  "Best  natures  do  commit  the  grossest  faults, 

When  they're  given  o'er  to  jealousy,  as  best  wine, 
Dying,  makes  strongest  vinegar." 

S6b:        "I  am  acquainted  with  sad  misery 

As  the  tann'd  galley-slave  is  with  his  oar." 

25a:        "  We  endure  the  strokes  like  anvils  or  hard  steel, 
Till  pain  itself  make  us  no  pain  to  feel." 

91b:  "  Here  is  a  sight 

As  direful  to  my  soul  as  is  the  sword 
Unto  a  wretch  hath  slain  his  father." 

94a:         "I  do  not  think  but  sorrow  makes  her  look 
Like  to  an  oft-dy'd  garment." 

91a:  "I  stand  like  one 

That  long  hath  ta'en  a  sweet  and  golden  dream  ; 
I  am  angry  with  myself,  now  that  1  wake." 

Tourneur,  11  69: 

"Here's  Envy  with  a  poor  thin  cover  on't, 
Like  scarlet  hid  in  lawn,  easily  spied  through." 

II  127  :  "Are  not  you  she 

For  whose  infect  persuasions  I  could  scarce 
Kneel  out  my  prayers,  and  had  much  ado, 
In  three  hours'  reading,  to  untwist  so  much 
Of  the  black  serpent  as  you  wound  about  me?" 

With  these  writers,  as  with  Chapman  and  Jonson,  all  sides  of 
human  life  are  illustrated.  The  conventional  in  metaphor  and 
simile  is  discarded  for  the  novel  and  the  strange  : 

Webster,  73b:  "This  intemperate  noise 

Fitly  resembles  deaf  men's  shrill  discourse, 
Who  talk  aloud,  thinking  all  other  men 
To  have  their  imperfection." 

75'->:  "  Laboring  men 

Count  the  clock  oftenest,  Cariola; 
Are  glad  when  their  task's  ended." 

Or  this  feigned  parallel  for  long  service  unrewarded  (p.  78a): 


200  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

"  'Tis  even  like  him,  that  in  a  winter  night 
Takes  a  long  slumber  o'er  a  dying  fire, 
A-loth  to  part  from't  ;   yet  parts  thence  as  cold 
As  when  he  first  sat  down." 

Chapman,  447b:   "I  die  Willingly  as  an  infant.'1'' 

In  Jonson  illustrations  of  this  sort  are  endless.  The  wealth 
of  the  Elizabethan  drama  in  wide-ranging  and  new-coined  meta- 
phors and  similes  is  practically  inexhaustible,  and  is  one  of  the 
striking  proofs  of  its  preeminence  as  a  literary  form  in  the  quali- 
ties of  vitality,  and  of  what  may  be  called,  if  not  imagination,  at 
least  dramatic  fancy. 

It  is  further  characteristic  of  this  drama  that  its  diction 
throughout  is  formative  and  fluent.  There  are  few  set  forms 
and  frequently  recurring  similes  such  as  afflict  the 
minor  poetry  of  the  eighteenth  century  period. 
Conventional  ^  ne  eai"lier  conventionalities  of  nature  treatment 
and  most  of  the  tricks  of  expression  of  the  six- 
teenth century  poets  are  quickly  replaced  by  a  new  and  generic 
diction.  It  is  true,  however,  that  as  the  drama  declines  there  is 
observable  a  tendency  to  crystallize  many  metaphorical  idioms 
into  definite  forms.  Some  of  these  are  now  obsolescent ;  many 
have  passed  into  the  familiar  language  of  the  day ;  the  most  strik- 
ing ones,  however,  and  especiallv  those  of  a  violent  or  passionate 
cast,  were  peculiar  to  this  drama  and  have  had  little  vogue  out- 
side of  it.  Such  metaphors  as  "to  stab  home  their  discontents,"1 
"massacre  his  heart,"2  and  the  like,3  while  frequently  repeated 
in  the  drama,  have  been  little  used  since.  Other  idiomatic  meta- 
phors characteristic  of  the  Elizabethan  drama,  as  also  to  some 
extent  of  Elizabethan  poetry  in  general,  are;  Spotted  and 
unspotted;4  Climbing,  mounting;5  Cloak  (with  the  disuse  of 
cloaks  in  male  attire  the  metaphor  has  naturally  fallen  into  par- 
tial desuetude);6  Pierce;7   Paint;8 — note  also  the  frequent  meta- 

1  Tourneur,  II  139.  •'Lyly,  Chapman,  lonson,  Ford,  etc. 

2  Marlowe,  I  94.  5  Lyly,  Peele,  Greene,   Marlowe,  Webster,  etc. 

3  See  infra,  p.  209.  *  Lyly.  Chapman,  etc. 
7  Lyly,  Peele,  Marlowe,  Chapman,  etc. 

a  Peele,  Greene,  Marlowe,  Webster,  Jonson,  etc. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  201 

phorical  use  of  the  adjective  "painted,"  as  in  Peele's  phrase, 
"the  painted  paths  of  pleasant  Ida,"1  or  Marlowe's  "the  painted 
spring,"8 — similarly,  "enamelled";3  Print;4  Melt;5  Drown  — 
especially  in  Chapman,  where  its  incessant  use  becomes  an  idio- 
syncrasy;* Tie,  tangle,  etc.7  A  list  of  similarly  recurrent  and 
characteristic  metaphors  might  be  extended  almost  indefinitely." 
The  metaphorical  vocabulary  of  the  drama  was  not  narrow,  and 
such  repetitions  and  set  comparisons  as  there  are  seldom  degen- 
erate into  mannerisms.9  Occasionally  an  approved  poetical 
motive  from  an  earlier  period  shows  a  long  persistency  and  is 
frequently  repeated  in  various  dramatic  contexts.  The  greatest 
favorite  is  the  conventional  poetical  description  of  woman's 
beautv,  which  runs  through  many  of  the  dramatists.10  Jonson, 
in  the  fantastic  tournament  of  compliment  and  courtship  in  Act 
V  scene  ii  of  Cynthia's  Revels,  presents  a  semi-serious  burlesque 
of  the  manner  :  "  Von  have  a  tongue  steeped  in  honey,  and  a 
breath  like  a  panther;   vour  breasts  and  forehead  are  whiter  than 

'  I'eele,  I  17.  4  Greene,  Chapman,  Ford,  etc. 

2  Marlowe,  II  156.  s  Marlowe,  Lyly,  Kyd,  Webster,  etc. 

3  Peele,  Ford,  etc.  6  See  also  Webster,  Jonson,  Ford,  etc. 
7  Lyly,  Peele,  Marlowe,  etc. 

8See  especially;  Fold,  enwrap;  Engine,  instrument,  etc.;  Fdge,  whet, 
etc.;  Poison  ;  Hinge;  Lock;  Mirror,  glass,  mould,  model,  etc.;  To  weigh,  to  put 
in  a  balance,  etc.  (as  in  Greene's  "thinks  King  Henry's  son  that  Margaret's 
love  Hangs  in  th'  uncertain  balance  of  proud  time  ?");  To  hammer  (of  thoughts, 
cares,  etc.);  Engraven  on  brows,  sits  on  forehead,  etc.;  Lamps  (of  stars,  of 
eyes,  etc.);  Scourge,  whip;  To  sound  a  depth;  Dowry  (of  beauty,  etc.);  Anvil  ; 
Branch;  Furrow;  Golden;  Map;  Mine  (to  undermine,  etc.);  Mushroom; 
Quench;  Reap;  Rip,  rip  up;  Seal;  Serpent,  viper,  etc.;  Shadow;  Shrine; 
Sift;  Smother;  Snare,  net,  springe,  etc.;  Surfeit,   Usher;  Wound,  etc. 

9  By  distributing  the  more  striking  metaphors  under  general  topical  head- 
ings in  the  preceding  lists  (supra,  pp.  15  to  156),  some  indication  is  given  of 
the  significance  of  the  choice  of  various  peculiar  classes  of  metaphors  in  the 
drama.  Thus  the  great  prevalence  of  certain  violent  and  hyperbolical  meta- 
phors (see  infra,  p.  209)  is  highly  significant  of  the  mental  and  moral  atmos- 
phere of  the  times;  and  similarly  of  various  coarse,  colloquial  and  repulsive  . 
metaphors,  such  as  entrails,  beget,  to  be  great  with,  bawd,  dunghill,  etc. 

10  See  Lyly  passim,  e.  g.,  II  42  ;  Greene,  154a;  Webster,  Sa  ;  Chapman.  1  ;.i, 
50b,  208b,  275b;  Ford,  I  124,  147,  II  13,  III  46,  etc. 


202  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

goat's  milk  or  May  blossoms;  a  cloud  is  not  so  soft  as  your 
skin'" — and  so  on.  And  Jonson  has  also  written  the  great 
classic  of  charming  conceits  of  this  sort  in  his  song, 

"  Do  but  look  on  her  eyes,  they  do  light 
All  that  love's  world  compriseth!" 

Characteristics  of  the  Period  Reflected  in  the  Metaphors  and  Simi- 
les of  the  Drama.  All  prominent  aspects  of  life  are  represented 
and  reflected  in  this  varied  drama  ;  to  name  them  all  would  but 
involve  a  repetition  of  our  topical  lists.  A  few  significant  phases, 
however,  may  be  singled  out  for  mention  here.  The  aspects  of 
the  sky,  of  clouds  and  stars  and  the  elements,  especially  in  their 
violent  manifestations,  as  in  tempests,  comets,  eclipses,  confla- 
grations, and  the  like,  are  perhaps  the  chief  source  of  metaphors 
and  similes  drawn  from  nature.  The  Wordsworthian  calm  and 
mystic  contemplation  is  far  enough  removed  from  the  excited 
imagination  of  the  Englishmen  of  this  time.  Next  in  order  of 
prominence  perhaps  are  the  numerous  references  to  animal  life, 
as  in  Webster  and  Jonson.  Under  the  miscellaneous  aspects  of 
life  connected  with  man  and  his  interests  the  number  of  tropes 
drawn  from  learning,  books,  the  universities,  and  the  like  is 
remarkable.  References  to  the  stage  and  the  drama  are  abun-  v 
dant  and  significant,  and  emphasize  the  literary  self-conscious- 
ness of  the  time.  Music,  especially  in  its  popular  aspects,  is  a 
prominent  theme  to  supply  illustrations.  The  Elizabethan 
playwrights  seem  to  pride  themselves  also  on  the  abundance  and 
facility  of  their  references  to  the  various  professions  and  occu-  / 
pations  of  men.  Life  is  studied  at  all  points.  Technical  law 
terms,  popular  medical  terms  and  references  to  diseases  and  to 
various  remedies,  the  language  of  the  merchant  and  the  artisan, 
of  the  soldier,  the  sailor  and  the  courtier,  all  are  drawn  upon. 
Metaphors  from  dress,  jewels,  and  all  sorts  of  male  and  female 
finery,  illustrate  the  social  history  of  the  time.  Had  we  no  other 
means  of  information,  we  could  infer  from  the  metaphors  of 
the  drama  that  sports  and  amusements  of  all  sorts  were  active 

■Jonson,  I  192b;    similarly  194b;  cf.  also  224b,   349a,  and   II  149b,  237-8, 
317b,  373a,  489a,  498b. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  ^03 

and  common  in  the  life  of  the  Elizabethan  Englishman.1 
Hunting  and  angling,  card-playing  and  tennis,  are  frequently 
mentioned.  Archerv  is  not  vet  obsolete,  and  falconry  and  hawk- 
ing are  still  pursued.  Note  that  falconry  also  is  a  favorite 
source  of  the  similes  of  the  poet  Spenser.  The  frequent  use  of 
illustrations  drawn  from  voyages,  from  sea  life  and  from  ships 
and  the  life  of  sailors,  indicates  the  new  interests  of  the  nation 
in  these  matters.  The  national  sense  of  humor  and  of  sym- 
pathetic interest  in  all  the  idiosyncrasies  of  common  life  is 
reflected  in  the  rich  fund  of  colloquial  and  comic  images 
invented  bv  Jonson  in  his  comedies,  but  appearing  previously 
to  some  extent  also  in  Lyly,  as  well  as  in  some  of  Jonson's 
contemporaries,  such  as  Chapman  and  others.  Note  what  oddi- 
ties Jonson  has  seen  in  his  walks  about  the  London  streets, 
which  are  reported  in  his  similes.  Thus,  the  size  of  a  crowd  he 
indicates  by  the  saving  that  it  was  greater  "than  come  to  the 
launching  of  some  three  ships."  The  signs  of  the  streets  attract 
his  attention  :  "When  he  is  mounted,"  we  are  told  of  a  foolish 
gallant,  "he  looks  like  the  sign  of  the  George."  Of  another: 
"  He  treads  nicelv  like  the  fellow  that  walks  upon  ropes."  He 
recalls  the  London  plague:  "the  bells,  in  time  of  pestilence, 
ne'er  made  Like  noise."  He  has  watched  the  bargemen  on  the 
Thames:  "I  shall  see  you  quoited  Over  the  bar,  as  bargemen  do 
their  billets."  These,  and  many  more  of  the  like,  are  merely 
little  touches  of  observation  thrown  in  like  marginal  sketches  on 
his  full-sized  comedy  etchings  of   London  life. 

The  ethical  preoccupation  of  the  mind  of  the  Englishman  of 
the  dav,  so  different  from  the  jaunty  carelessness  of  the  English- 
man  of    the    Restoration    comedies,    is    retlected 

ora  lzing  .^    manv   Ways.       Colors,  used    in    a   moral  sense,  v 

Tendency  J 

supply    manv    metaphors.      Heaven    and   hell   are 

frequentlv  recurrent  emblems.  Devils  and  conjuring,  perspec- 
tive-glasses and  witchcraft,  are  the  sources  of  many  similes. 
The  images  of  death  and   the  grave,  so   abundant    in   Webster, 

'  In  Webster's  White  Devil  (p.  24b)  the  young  Giovanni  asks  his  uncle  : 
"  What  do  the  dead  do,  uncle  ?  do  they  eat. 
Hear  music,  x"  a-hunting  and  be  merry, 

As  ~re  that  live  .'  " 


204  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

are  not  infrequent  also  in  others.  Death  is  on  one  side  of  them, 
and  riotous  and  abundant  life  on  the  other.  They  live  the  life 
of  the  body  in  its  fullness.  The  senses  are  continually  in  play 
and  their  habitual  metaphors  reflect  this  activity.  The  aesthetic 
senses  of  the  eye  and  ear  are  fully  alive.  They  are  keenly  awake 
to  the  pleasures  of  sight  and  the  charms  of  music.  But  the  other 
senses,  too,  are  freely  recorded.  Metaphors  of  food,  eating,  thirst, ,; 
surfeits,  odors,  smells,  abound.  On  the  other  hand  the  funda- 
mental ethical  questions  connected  with  the  life  of  the  individual 
and  the  welfare  of  the  human  soul  are  perpetually  touched  upon 
and  made  prominent  in  the  favorite  comparisons  and  metaphors 
of  the  Elizabethan  playwrights.  I  have  spoken  of  the  abundance 
of  figures  didactic  and  sententious  by  virtue  of  their  very  form, 
such  as  allegory,  fable,  and  proverb.  But  many  simple  meta- 
phors and  similes  in  their  subject-matter  as  in  their  application 
show  the  same  tendency.  Chapman  is  gnomic  and  moral  to  a  \, 
fault.  Webster  is  full  of  a  gloomy  and  world-weary  philosophy 
of  life.  Kyd  in  The  Spanish  Tragedy  writes  an  inverted  Hamlet. 
Marlowe's  passionate  eagerness  about  the  fundamental  questions 
of  human  sin  and  fate  is  evident  to  the  most  superficial  reader  of 
his  Faustus.  Peele  in  David  and  Bethsabe  went  beyond  his 
powers  in  attempting  a  psychological  study  of  temptation  and 
sin.     What  can   exceed   in    caustic  bitterness   and 

om  re  melancholy  the  criticisms  of  life  conveyed  in  some 

Criticism  J 

of  Life  °f  Tourneur's,   or    Chapman's,   or  Webster's  com- 

parisons :  See  for  example  Byron's  dying  speech1 
from  Chapman's  Byron's  Tragedy,  and  many  similar  passages 
elsewhere  in  Chapman.     Thus  174a: 

"  Man  is  as  a  tree  that  hath  no  top  in  cares, 
No  root  in  comforts ;  all  his  power  to  live 
Is  given  to  no  end,  but  to  have  power  to  grieve." 

140b  :     "  Man  is  a  torch  borne  in  the  wind  ;   a  dream 

But  of  a  shadow,  summ'd  with  all  his  substance." 


271a 


"  like  a  man 
Long  buried,  is  a  man  that  long  hath  lived  : 
Touch  him,  he  falls  to  ashes." 


1  Supra,  pp.  106. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS,  205 

329a:     "This  is  the  inn  where  all  Deucalion's  race, 
Sooner  or  later,  must  take  up  their  lodging. 
No  privilege  can  free  us  from  this  prison  : 
No  tears  nor  prayers  can  redeem  from  hence 
A  captived  soul." 

Ami  Tourneur,  II   124:     "Joy's  a  subtle  elf. 

I  think  man's  happiest  when  he  forgets  himself." 

And  Webster,  who  is  full  of  dark  and  pathetic  reflections  on 
human  life  and  destiny,  as,  for  example,  in  the  brief  colloquv 
between  Francesco  de  Medicis  and  his  young  nephew,  in  ]'ittoria 
Corombona  (p.  24b): 

Giovanni :  What  do  the  dead  do,  uncle  ?  do  thev  eat, 
Hear  music,  go  a  hunting,  and  be  merry, 
As  we  that  live  ? 

Fran,  de  Med.     No  coz  ;  thev  sleep. 

Giov.     Lord,  Lord,  that  I  were  dead  ! 

I  have  not  slept  these  six  nights. —  When  do  they  wake  ? 

Fran,  de  Med.     When  God  shall  please'" 

Compare  with  this  the  Duchess'  farewell  to  her  son,  in  The 
Duchess  of  Malfi,  III  v  (p.  83a): 

"  Farewell,  boy  : 
Thou  art  happy  that  thou  hast  not  understanding 
To  know  thy  misery  ;  for  all  our  wit 
And  reading  brings  us  to  a  truer  sense 
Of  sorrow." 

See  also  47a  : 

"Are  you  grown  an  atheist  ?      Will  vou  turn  your  bodv, 
Which  is  \\vt  goodly  palace  of  the  soul, 
To  the  soul's  slaughter-house  ?     O,  the  cursed  devil, 
Which  doth  present  us  with  all  other  sins 
Thrice-candied  o'er, —  despair  with  gall  and  stibium  ; 
Yet  we  carouse  it  off." 

88a  :   "Didst    thou    ever  see  a  lark  in  a  cage  ?     Such   is  the  soul 

in  thebody.     This  world  is  like  her  little  turf  of  grass  ;   and   the 

heaven   o'er   our    heads,  like    her    looking-glass,   only  gives    us  a 

miserable  knowledge  of  the  small  compass  of  our  prison." 

1  See  a  similar  passage  in  Iieaumont  and  Fletcher, Bonduca,  IV  ii,  in  the 
dialogue  between  Caratach  and  his  young  nephew  Hengo. 


206  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

99a  :   "  We  are  merely  the  stars'  tennis  balls,  struck  and  bandied 
Which  way  please  them." 

99a-b  :  "In  all  our  quest  of  greatness, 

Like  wanton  boys,  whose  pastime  is  their  care, 
We  follow  after  bubbles  blown  in  the  air. 
Pleasure  of  life,  what  is't?  only  the  good  hours 
Of  an  ague  ;  merely  a  preparative  to  rest." 

But  gnomic  and  moral  reflections  of  every  sort  are  a  marked 
trait  of  the  serious  drama  of  the  entire  period  from  Gorboduc  to 
the  closing  of  the  theatres.  The  temperamental  melancholy 
which  underlies  most  of  these  moralizations  is  almost  a  national 
characteristic,  seemingly  recurrent  in  extreme  manifestations  at 
irregular  intervals  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  period  to  Webster, 
from  Swift  to  Carlyle.  The  reader  of  the  Elizabethan  tragedy, 
with  its  gloomy  insistence  on  the  darker  sides  of  life,  can  more 
easily  understand  the  motives  and  influences  which  prompted  just 
at  this  time  (162 1)  the  preparation  of  Burton's  curious  x\natomy 

of  Melancholy.1 

If  the  serious  and  melancholy  cast  of  mind  which  is  reflected 

in   the   imagery   of  the   dramatists    of  this    period   is   a   national 

trait,  there  are  others,  similarly  revealed,  which  are 

Renaissance        rather    characteristic     of    the     entire    Renaissance 

J?*l  S   ,  .  movement,  although  none  the  less  congenial  to  the 

Reflected  in  & 

the  Drama  national   temperament  when  roused  and  quickened 

by  stimulating  influences  from  without  and  within. 

The  new  sense  of  wonder  and  interest  in  the  brave  new  world  of 

the  time  and  in  its  people,  under  the  new  life  of  the  Renaissance, 

is   one   feature  evident  in    the   imagery   and   ideas   of    the   new 

poetry.      Far-fetched   comparisons,    that    travel    over   the   whole 

realm  of  nature  and  of  the  life  of  man  with  restless  penetration, 

resulting  in  sudden  and  surprising  juxtapositions  of  thought,  are 

eagerly  sought  out,  and  quite  as  eagerly  relished  and  applauded. 

The  utmost  fire  and   fullness  of  life,  the  pomp  and  gorgeousness 

'Note  also  that  one  Elizabethan  drama, —  Ford's  The  Lover's  Melancholy 
(1628), —  is  directly  based  upon  this  book.  See  the  discourse  on  melancholy  in 
Chapman's  (?)  Revenge  for  Honor  (Works  p.  418);  cf.  Jonson's  Every  Man  in 
his  Humor,  III  i  (Works  1  25).  But  the  Elizabethan  references  on  melancholy 
are  innumerable.     Cf.  Symonds,  Shaks.  Pred.  55-57- 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  207 

of  the  external  world,  are  pictured  in  every  aspect.  The  inces- 
sant hyperbole  and  passion  of  this  imagery,  its  frequent  felicity, 
and  its  occasional  lack  of  proportion,  are  indicative  of  a  new  and 
excited  taste  and  of  an  unwonted  rush  of  thoughts  and  feelings 
seeking  representation.  The  artist  sees  too  much  and  feels  too 
intensely  to  be  content  with  the  ordinary  prose-utterance  of 
unimaginative  men.  Hence  he  seeks  for  poetical  and  unusual 
forms,  which  he  fills  with  the  new  inventions  that  come  so  readily 
to  him.  Everything  is  drawn  upon  for  ornament  and  use,- 
classical  and  Italian  forms,  models,  motives,  and  plots,  the  whole 
of  ancient  story  and  mythology,  all  the  new  discoveries  of 
science,  and  all  the  new  discoveries  in  geography.'  The  strong 
literary  and  classical  coloring  of  the  drama  is  as  indicative  of  its 
Renaissance  origin,  as  its  vivid  realism,  its  varied  inventiveness, 
and  its  sombre  passion  are  of  its  national  meaning  and  sympathy. 
Much  of  the  Renaissance  quality,  tempered  with  much  of  the 
poet's  own  moonlight  beauty  and  charm,  had  been  rendered  and 
revealed  during  the  first  of  these  flowering  years  of  the  drama  in 
Spenser's  Faerie  Queene.  Here  is  the  pomp  and  gorgeousness  of 
the  external  world,  here  the  classical  mythology  newly  wedded  to 
fairy  magic,  here  the  sense  of  the  new  wonders  of  space  and 
thought,  together  with  the  underlying  seriousness  and  moral 
sense  of  the  typical  Englishman.  But  it  was  a  poem  for  ideal- 
ists ;  it  lacked  passion  and  penetrative  power.  Shakspere  alone 
speaks  to  us  the  full  message  of  the  Elizabethan  age.  Outside  of 
Shakspere  we  must  supplement  Spenser  with  the  minor  dramatists 
in  order  to  find  a  chorus  of  poetic  voices  equally  representative. 

The  pride  of  life  and   the   pleasure   in   costly  phrases  and   in 
the  enumeration  of  sensuous  and  gorgeous  details  so  character- 
istic  of  the   entire   poetry   of    the   period   and  so 

Costly  and  typical   of  the  Renaissance  is  a  prominent  feature 

Gorgeous  \     ■,        ■  r      ,        j  m,  ,  ■ 

_  01    the    imagery   of    the    dramatists.       I  lie    earlier 

Images  °     J 

writers    are    especially  fond    of    introducing    such 
passages.     Thus  Greene,    in    the   opening   scene   of   his  Orlando 

'  E.  g.  Marlowe.  I  83  : 

"  We  mean  to  travel  to  the  Antarctic  pule, 
Conquering  the  people  underneath  our  feet" 


208  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Furioso,  fills  the  speeches  of  the  princely  suitors  with  a  profusion 
of  pompous  illustration  after  this  manner  : 

"The  bordering  islands,  seated  here  in  ken, 
Whose  shores  are  sprinkled  with  rich  orient  pearl, 
More  bright  of  hue  than  were  the  margarites 
That  Caesar  found  in  wealthy  Albion  ; 
The  sands  of  Tagus,  all  of  burnished  gold, 
Made  Thetis  never  prouder  on  the  clifts 
That  overpeer  the  bright  and  golden  shore, 
Than  do  the  rubbish  of  my  country  seas." 

Read  also  the  sumptuous  array  of  delicacies  which  Friar 
Bacon,  in  Friar  Bacon  and  Friar  Bungay,  promises  to  provide 
for  the  princes  through  his  magic  art  : 

"And  for  thy  cates,  rich  Alexandria  drugs, 
Fetched  by  carvels  from  ^Egypt's  richest  straits, 
Found  in  the  wealthy  strand  of  Africa, 
Shall  royalize  the  table  of  my  king. 
Wines  richer  than  th'  ^Egyptian  courtesan 
Quaff 'd  to  Augustus'  kingly  countermatch  —  " 

and  so  on,  including  sugar-cane  from  Candy,  spices  from  Persia, 
Afric  dates,  mirabolans  of  Spain,  "conserves  and  suckets  from 
Tiberias,"  and  cates  from  Judea.  Tamburlaine's  illimitable  spirit 
of  geographical  conquest  is  in  a  higher  vein,  but  Greene's  man- 
ner is  resumed  with  even  fuller  sensuousness  in  Jonson,  who  is 
very  fond  of  such  images.  "If  thou  wilt  eat  the  spirit  of  gold, 
and  drink  dissolved  pearl  in  wine,  'tis  for  thee,"  says  Deliro  to 
Fastidious  Brisk  in  Every  Man  out  of  his  Humor.  And  Mosca 
to  Voltore,  in   Volpone  : 

"When  you  do  come  to  swim  in  golden  lard. 
Up  to  the  arms  in  honey,  that  your  chin 
Is  borne  up  stiff  with  fatness  of  the  flood, 
Think  on  vour  vassal." 

Similarly  Volpone  himself : 

"Thy  baths  shall  be  the  juice  of  July-flowers, 
Spirit  of  roses,  and  of  violets, 
The  milk  of  unicorns,  and  panther's  breath 
Gathered  in  bags,  and  mixed  with  Cretan  wines. 
Our  drink  shall  be  prepared  gold  and  amber." 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  2o<) 

See   also   the    pari    of   Sir  Epicure    Mammon    throughout    The 
Alchemist.1 

But   passion,  and    passion  the   expression    of  which   too   often 
degenerates   into  hyperbole   and  violence,  is  the   most   striking 
feature  of  the  serious   drama   of   the   minor  Eliza 

__  .     ,  bethans,  and  especially  of  the  Tragedy  of  Blood,  as 

Metaphors  r  J  °      J 

Mr.  J.  A.  Symonds  has  named  the  earlier  Eliza- 
bethan tragedy.2  The  extravagance  which  characterizes  the  plots 
and  the  catastrophes  of  many  of  the  plays  of  Kyd,  Marlowe, 
Tourneur,  and  others,  is  reflected  in  their  use  of  metaphor  and 
simile.  For,  in  addition  to  the  large  amount  of  literary  and 
elaborate  hyperbole  which  marks  the  drama  of  the  period,  there 
is  a  sort  of  familiar  and  idiomatic  hyperbole,  revealing  itself  in 
the  customary  employment  of  startling  and  violent  metaphors 
and  comparisons,  almost  as  matters  of  course.  Such  metaphors 
as  "  kill,"  "  stab,"  "  massacre,"  "  drown,"  "  smother,"  "  rip," 
"poison,"  "infect,"  "thunder,"  "tempest,"  "eclipse,"  are 
extremely  common.3  A  tendency  to  similar  exaggeration,  more 
softened,  however,  by  long  usage,  and  never  so  seriously  meant, 
has  been  noticed  in  certain  familiar  French  idioms. *  Such  meta- 
phors as  "bouleverse,"  "  assassine,"  "assomme,"  "  meurtri," 
"  navre,"  and  the  like,  correspond  in  form  at  least  very  closely 
to  the  English  examples  just  given.  Metaphors  connected  with 
swords  and  other  weapons  the  Elizabethans  seem  to  use  with 
peculiar  frequency  and  emphasis.  The  language  of  warfare  and 
combats  is  made  to  lack  none  of  the  violence  imaginable  in  the 
proper  situations.  Thus  Peele,  1  112  :  "make  his  flesh  my  mur- 
dering falchion's  food."      I    113:   "with  your  swords  write  in   the 

1  Cf.  similarly,  Shirley,  The  Lady  of  Pleasure,  V  i  (Mermaid  ed.,  pp.  350- 
351);  and  Massinger,  The  City  Madam  III  iii. 

-  Shaks.  Pred.,  ch.  xii. 

^Examples:  Stab:  Jonson, I  u6b,  215a;  Chapman,  165a;  Tourneur, II  139; 
Kill:  Chapman,  7b  ("  slain  with  our  beauties  "),  41a  (murder)  ;  Marlowe,  I  94, 
II  247  (massacre),  II  264  ("thou  kill'st  thy  mother's  heart");  Drown:  Chapman, 
(see  supra,  p.  122);  Webster,  34a,  142b ;  Jonson,  I  295a,  II  105a,  etc.;  Smother: 
Webster,  99a  ("smother  thy  pity  "),  135a;  Marlowe,  I  96;  Chapman,  217a,  etc.; 
Rip,ripup:  Chapman,  109b ;  Peele,!  24  ("unrip  not  so  your  shames");  Greene, 
212a;   Webster,  136b,  153a,  etc. 

*  By  Falkenheiner ;  cited  in  Gerber,  l>ie  Sprache  als  Kunst,  II  264  note. 


210  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Book  of  Time."  I  238  :  "Sith  they  begin  to  bathe  their  swords  in 
bloody  Marlowe,  II  143:  "To  greet  his  lordship  with  a  pon- 
iard." II  260:  "I  will  whip  you  to  death  with  my  poniard's 
point."      297  : 

"  Whet  thy  sword  on  Sixtus'  bones, 
That  it  may  keenly  slice  the  Catholics." 

Tourneur,  II  8: 

"Thy  wrongs  and  mine  are  for  one  scabbard  Jit.'" 

II  58:     "  Sword,  thou  wast  never  a  back-biter  yet. 

I'll  pierce  him  to  his  face,  he  shall  die  looking  upon  me. 
Thy  veins  are  swell'd  with  lust, —  this  shall  unfill  'em." 

Webster,  125b: 

"  You  would  have  lock'd  your  poniard  in  my  heart." 

Chapman,  259b: 

"  My  sword,  that  all  the  wars  .   .   . 
Hath  sheathed  betwixt  his  hilt  and  horrid  point." 

Ford,  II  307:       "  Your  sword  talks  an  answer"   (cf.  Ill  32). 

The  language  of  these  dramatists  is  sometimes  curious  in 
ferocity,  doing  more  than  ample  justice  to  a  traditional  concep- 
tion of  the  Italianate  manner:     Thus  Chapman,  168a: 

"  I'll  bind  his  arm  in  silk,  and  rub  his  flesh, 
To  make  the  vein  swell,  that  his  soul  may  gush 
Into  some  kennel." 

366b:     "  I  stroke  again  at  him,  and  then  he  slept, 
His  life-blood  boiling  out  at  every  wound, 
In  streams  as  clear  as  any  liquid  ruby." 

441b:  "  Would  it  were  possible 

To  kill  even  thy  eternity, ." 

Webster,  36b: 

"  And  yet  methinks  that  this  revenge  is  poor, 
Because  it  steals  upon  him  like  a  thief." 

49b:       "  Naught  grieves  but  that  you  are  too  few  to  feed 
The  famine  of  our  vengeance." 

But  violent  metaphors  are  often  used  to  signify  commoner  things. 
Thus  Tourneur,  II  78: 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS.  -  '  " 

"  Here  came  a  letter  now 
New-bleeding  from  their  pens." 

Webster,  76b: 

"  I  will pla tit  my  soul  in  mine  ears,  to  hear  you." 

Chapman,  31  5a: 

"  Stuff  d  his  soul 
With  damn'd  opinions  and  unhallow'd  thoughts." 

The  same  passionate  way  of  feeling  and  speaking  gives  them 
sharper  senses  and  livelier  imaginations  than  men  in  quieter 
times  possess.  Volpone"  in  the  midst  of  his  villanies  hears  a 
noise  and  cries  out  : 

"  Hark  !   who's  there  ? 
I  hear  some  footing  ;   officers,  the  saffi, 
Come  to  apprehend  us  !   I  do  for  I  the  brand 
Hissing  already  at  my  forehead:  now 
Mine  ears  are  boring." 

Chapman    is    fond    of   the  classical   metaphor,  "  to  eat  one's 
heart. "2     The  metaphor  of  heaping  up  evil  on  another's  breast  is 
another  favorite  of  this  same  general  stamp  : 
Tourneur,  II  105: 

"  Hoping  at  last 
To  pile  up  all  my  wishes  on  his  breast." 

Chapman,  109a: 

"All  the  pains 
Two  faithful  lovers  feel,  that  thus  are  parted,   .   .   . 

...   on  thy  heart 
Be  heap'd  and  press'd  down,  till  thy  soul  depart."' 

Jonson,  I  17a: 

"  Heap  worse  on   ill,  make  up  a  pile  of  hatred." 

Other  and  various   illustrations  of  the  same  method  of  utterance 

are : 

'Jonson,  I  373-4.  <>n  this  form  of  imagination  in  general  see  Longinus 
On  the  Sublime,  XV  1-2.  Further  examples  maybe  seen  in  Massinger,  ./  New 
Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts,  IV  ii    17-22,  and    Beaumont    and  Fletcher,   Thierry  and 

Theodorct,  I  i  (Mermaid  ed.  I  p.  297). 
2 Chapman,  161b,  176b,  217a. 
3  See  also  Chapman,  157b,  175b. 


212  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

Marlowe,  II  217:     "Unbowcl  straight  this  breast." 

Webster,  12b:  "  Spit  thy  poison." 

44b:  "  I  am  falling  to  pieces." 

Chapman,  176a:  "  Her  wounds 

Manlessly  digg'd  in  her." 

Tourneur,  II  22:   "O,  one  incestuous  Ws?,  picks  open  Hell." 

II  59:     "O,  there's  a  wicked  whisper  ;   hell  is  in  his  ear." 

II  74:      "Make  him  curse  and  swear,  and  so  die  black." 

We  have  thus  reviewed  in  some  of  their  more  striking  mani- 
festations the  leading  forms  of  metaphor  and  simile  characteristic 
of  the  minor  Elizabethan  playwrights,  emphasizing 

.,  ,  , .        some  of  the  more  dramatic  tvpes  and   peculiarities 
Recapitulation  J  r  r 

of  imaginative  diction.  We  have  noted  the  general 
range  of  observation  and  the  main  sources  in  nature  and  in 
human  life  commanded  by  these  writers.  A  few  of  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  period,  illustrating,  in  Charles  Lamb's 
phrase,1  "  what  may  be  called  the  moral  sense  of  our  ancestors," 
as  reflected  in  their  choice  of  illustration  and  trope,  consciously 
or  unconsciously  made,  have  received  brief  special  mention.  The 
didactic  and  moralizing  tendency  of  the  early  dramatists,  their 
love  of  literary  and  classical  ornament,  their  attitude  towards 
Nature,  their  treatment  of  common  life,  the  prominence  with 
them  of  the  senses  and  of  coarse  and  colloquial  images,  their 
abundance  in  the  rich  coloring  and  their  profuse  employment 
of  the  pomp  and  fire  and  fullness  of  life  of  the  Renaissance,  their 
conception  of  the  passions  and  their  methods  of  rendering  them 
—all  these  things  as  entering  into  the  imagery  of  the  minor 
Elizabethan  drama  have  been  touched  upon.  This  drama  was 
the  most  vital  and  the  most  popular  form  of  literature  existing 
in  its  day.  Its  significance  and  its  greatness  lie  above  everything 
else  in  its  showing  of  strenuous  character  in  strenuous  action. 
In  music  and  rhythm  of  verse  it  is  not  supreme.  There  is  noth- 
ing in  it  to  correspond  to  the  choral  odes  of  the  Greek  drama. 
In  structure  of  plot  and  in  narrative  felicity  it   is  often  deficient. 

1  Specimens,  Preface,  p.  iv. 


SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSION.  2  i  3 

[n  dignity  and  power  of  imaginative  language  it  is  uneven  and 
careless,  however  vivid  and  fresh  and  Eorcihle  is  its  diction.  Its 
interest  is  centered  too  narrowly  in  the  life  of  the  individual  and 
in  the  reaction  of  personal  forces  and  passions.  But  in  this 
special  sphere  it  presents  an  imaginative  transcript  of  life,  for 
uncompromising  fidelity,  for  tragic  and  romantic  feeling,  for 
strenuous  reality,  hardly  rivaled  in  the  world's  literature.  These 
qualities  are  adequately  reflected  in  the  metaphor  and  simile 
employed  in  this  drama. 


BIBLIOGRAPHICAL   INDEX. 

TEXTS  OF  THE   DRAMATISTS. 

George  Chapman,  Plays,  ed.  K.  II.  Shepherd,  London  [874,  pp.  1    340,  351   380. 

Robert  Greene,  Dramatic  and  Poetical  Works  of  Greene  and  Peele,  ed.  Dyce,  Lon- 
don, 1861.  (Greene  pp.  1   320.) 

Gorboduc,  or  Ferrex  and  Porrex  :  in  The  Works  of  'rims.  Sackville,  ed.  K. 
W.  Sackville-West,  London  1859  (pp.  1-92). 

Ben   Jonson,    Works,  ed.  Gifford  and  Cunningham,   London  [1876],  3  vols.     Vol. 

1  pp.  463 ;  vol.  II  pp.  1-515. 

Thomas   Kyd :    Jeronimo,  in   vol.   IV   pp.  345-390,  and  The  Spanish   Tragedy,  in 

vol.  V  pp.  1-173  of  Dodsley's  Collection  of  Old  English  Plays,  ed.  W.  C.  Haz 

litt,  London  1874. 
John  Lyly,  Dramatic  Works,  ed.  F.  W.  Fairholt,  2  vols.  London  1S58  ;  pp.  298,  and 

284. 
Christopher  Marlowe,   Works,  ed.  A.  II.  Bullen,  3  vols.  Poston  1885;  vols.  I  1-283, 

II   1-298. 
George  Peele,  Works,  ed.  A.  II.  Bullen,  2  vols.  Boston  1 888;  vols.  I  pp.  1-347.  II  1-86. 
Cvril  Tourneur,  Plays  and   Poems,  ed.  J.  C.  Collins,  2  vols.   London    1878;   vols.  I 

pp.  I-I55,  II  I-150. 
John  Webster,  Works,  ed.  Dyce,  London  1859;   pp.  1-180. 

GENERAL  REFERENCES. 

E.  A.  Abbott,  Shakespearian  Grammar,  London  1879. 
Aristotle,  Rhetoric,  translated  J.  E.  C.  Welldon,  London  1886. 

Rhetoric  and  Poetic,  translated  T.  Buckley,  (Bonn)  London  1890. 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Works,  ed.  Dyce,  New  York  1S90,  2  vols. 

Besl   Plays,  ed.  Strachey  (Mermaid  Series),  London  1893. 

2  vols. 

A.  Biese,  Das  Metaphorische  in  der  dichterischen    Phantasie,   Berlin  1889  (pp.  35). 

F.  Brinkmann,  Die  Metaphern,  Bonn  1878. 

S.  Brooke,  Primer  of  English  Literature,  New  York  1879. 

E.  B.  Browning,  Poetical  Works,  New  York  18S5,  5  vols. 

F.  Brunetiere,  Nouvelles  Questions  de  Critique,  Paris  1890. 

II.  T.  Buckle.  History  of  Civilization  in  England,  2  vols.  New  Vork  [872. 
!•'..  Burke,  Works,  Boston  t88i  ;  vol  I  67-262,  On  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful. 
T.  Campbell,  Specimens  of  the  British  Poets,  London  1845. 

Chalmers  and  Johnson,  eds.,  The  Works  of  the  English  Poets,  I  .ondon  1810.  21  vols. 
Chaucer,  Complete  Works,  ed.  Skeat,  Oxford   [894,  <>  vols. 
S.  T.  Coleridge,  Miscellanies,  /Esthetic  and  Literary,   London  (Bonn)  1*85. 

215 


216  METAPHOR  AND  SIMILE. 

J.  P.  Collier,  History  of  English  Dramatic  Poetry  to  the  Time  of  Shakespeare,  3  vols. 

London  1879. 
Dryden,  Works,  ed.  Scott  and  Saintsbury,  Edinburgh  1883  (vols.  V  and  VI). 

F.  G.  Fleay,  Biographical  Chronicle  of  the  English  Drama,  1559-1642,2  vols.  London 

1S91. 
John  Ford,  Works,  ed.  Gifford  and  Dyce,  3  vols.  London  1869. 

G.  Gerber,  Die  Sprache  als  Kunst,  2  vols.,  2d.  ed.,  Berlin  1885. 

E.  Gosse,  The  Jacobean  Poets,  New  York  1894. 

Seventeenth  Century  Studies,  2d.  ed.,  London  1885. 
H.  E    Greene,  A  Grouping  of  Figures  of  Speech  (reprinted  from  the  Publications  of 
the   Modern  Language  Association  of  America,  N.  S.  vol.  I  No.  4),  Baltimore 

1893. 

F.  B.  Gummere,  The  Anglo-Saxon  Metaphor,  Halle  1881. 

Old  English  Ballads,  Boston  1894. 
H.  Iiallam,  Introduction  to  the   Literature  of  Europe  in  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth, 

and  Seventeenth  Centuries,  4  vols,  in  2,  New  York  1886. 
Win,  Hazlitt,  Miscellaneous  Works,  3  vols.  Boston  N.  d. 

E.  Hennequin,  La  Critique  Scientitique,  2d.  ed.,  Paris  1890. 

•  Henry  Home,  Lord  Karnes,  Elements  of  Criticism,  2  vols.,  Edinburgh  1807. 
Leigh  Hunt,  Imagination  and  Fancy,  London  1883. 

R.  Hurd,  Works,  London  18 11,  8  vols. 

•  R.  C.  Jebb,  Attic  Orators,  London  1893,  2  vols. 

Introduction  to  Homer,  Boston  1893. 

F.  Klaeber,  Das  Bild  bei  Chaucer,  Berlin  1893. 

Charles  Lamb,  Specimens  of  the  English  Dramatic  Poets  who  lived  about  the  Time 

of  Shakespeare,  London  (Bohn)  1854. 
Landmann,  Euphues,  Heilbronn  1887. 
Longinus,  On  the  Sublime,  trans.  Havell,  London  1890. 
J.  R.  Lowell,  The  Old  English  Dramatists,  Boston  1892. 

Works,  Riverside  edition,  10  vols.,  Boston  1892. 
Massinger,  Plays,  ed.  Gifford  and  Cunningham,  London  [1872]. 
A.  Mezieres,  Predecesseurs  et  Contemporains  de  Shakespeare  3d.  ed.,  Paris  1881. 

Contemporains  et  Successeurs  de  Shakespeare,  3d  ed.,  Paris  188 1. 
Wm.  Minto,  Manual  of  English  Prose  Literature,  Boston  1891. 

Characteristics   of    English  Poets   from    Chaucer   to    Shirley,    Boston, 

1889. 
Max  Muller,  The  Science  of  Thought,  New  York  1887. 
The  Pilgrimage  to  Parnassus,  with  the  Two  Parts  of  the  Return  from   Parnassus, 

ed.  W.  D.  Macray,  Oxford  1886. 
A.  W.  Pollard,  English  Miracle  Plays,  Moralities,  and  Interludes,  Oxford   1890. 
Quintilian,  De    Institutione  Oratoria ;  in  Nisard's  Collection  des  Auteurs  Latins, 

Paris  1875. 
Retrospective  Review,  16  vols.,  3  series,  1820-6,  1828,  1853-4. 
A.  W.  Schlegel,  Dramatic  Art  and  Literature,  trans.  Black,  London  (Bohn)  1889. 


^GRAPHICAL  INDEX.  -  i  7 

Shakspere,  Works,  ed.  W.  A.   Wright  (The  Cambridge  Shakspere)  London  and 

New  York  [891   3,  1)  vols, 
L.  A.  Sherman,  Analytics  of  I  iterature,  Boston  iSo.?. 
J.  Shirley,  Besl  Plays,  ed.  I'..  Gosse  (Mermaid  Series),  London  1SS8. 
Sidney,  Defense  of  Poesy,  ed.  A.  S.  Cook,  Boston  i*oo. 

Poems,  ed.  Grosarl  ("Early  English  Poets"),  London  i S77,  3  vols. 
Herberl  Spencer,  The  Philosophy  of  Style  (with  notes).  New  York  1S91  (pp.  55). 
Edmund  Spenser,  Complete  Works,  ed.  Morris  and  11  ales  (Globe  ed.),  London  1S90. 
A.  C.  Swinburne,  Essays  and  Studies,  London  1888. 

A  Study  of  lien  Jonson,  London  i88g. 

George  Chapman,  a  Critical    Essay,   London    1875;  also  in  the 
Poems  and  Minor  Translations  of  Chapman,  London  1S75. 
J.  A.  Symonds,  Shakspere's  Predecessors  in  the  English  Drama,  London  1SS4. 

—  Hen  Jonson  r  English  Worthies"  Series),  New  York  [886. 

—  Introduction  to  Websterand  Tourneur,  in  Mermaid  ed.,  London  1888. 
Essays  Speculative  and  Suggestive,  New  York  1894. 

In  the  Key  of  Blue  and  other  Prose  Essays,  London  and  New  York 

1893. 

11.  A.    Tame,  History  of   English  Literature,  translated  II.  Van  Laun,  2  vols.  New 

York  1872. 
A.  Tennyson,  Works,  New  York  and  London  1803. 
A.  11.  Tolman,  The  Style  of  Anglo-Saxon  Poetry  (reprinted  from  the  Transactions 

of  the  Modern  Language  Association,  vol.  Ill,  18S7). 
II.  I'lrici,  Shakspeare's  Dramatic  Art,  translated  I..  Dora  Schmitz,  2   vols.,  London 

(Bohn)  18Q2. 
T.  II.  Ward,  ed.,  The  English  Poets,  4  vols.,  London  and  New   \  ork  18S0. 
A.  W.  Ward,  History  of  English  Dramatic  Literature,  2  vols..  London  1875. 
Thos.  Warton,  History  of   English  Poetry,  ed.  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  4  vols.,  London  1871. 
Webster  and    Tourneur,   Best   Plays,  ed.   J.  A.  Symonds  (Mermaid  Series),  London 

1888. 
E.  A.  Whipple,  Literature  of  the  Age  of  Elizabeth,  Boston  iSgi. 
Thomas  Wilson,  The  Arte  of  Rhetorique  |  London]  1553. 
Henry  Wood,  T.  L.  Beddoes,  a  Survival  in  Style  (in  American  Journal  of  I'hilology 

IV  445-455)- 


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